Craig McKinley

Craig McKinley died suddenly on February 18, 2013.

In May 2011 he was placed on probation for obstructing justice. He also lost his hospital privileges in Ontario.

From August 20, 2010, to April 13, 2011, McKinley was suspended from practicing medicine by an executive committee with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. During this period McKinley, who was experiencing problems with alcohol, received treatment at the Homewood Health Centre in Guelph, Ontario, which specializes in addiction treatment. In January 2011, McKinley was arrested for violating a bail condition and obstructing justice by attempting to dissuade a witness from giving evidence. He later admitted to sending the witness two e-mails on January 8, 2011, threatening her with a public mischief charge and suggesting he would endanger her job by complaining to the organization overseeing her profession. He also urged her to make the Crown's office withdraw a complaint against him. However, the same month McKinley's assault charges were stayed by Superior Court Justice Paul Rivard because the district Crown's office had prejudiced his right to a fair trial. The Crown's office could not show it had responded to seven written requests from McKinley's lawyer to disclose evidence on the assault charges.

In April 2009, McKinley was arrested in North Bay, Ontario on assault charges.

In September 2010 McKinley pleaded guilty to a criminal charge of drunk driving in Parry Sound, Ontario, on November 12, 2008. On April 8, 2009, McKinley was arrested in North Bay by detectives in the Investigative Section of the North Bay Police Service. He was charged with eight counts of assault, criminal harassment and uttering threats. On August 4, 2010, McKinley failed to stop for police on the highway between Parry Sound and Sudbury, Ontario. The Ontario Provincial Police called off their pursuit when McKinley, driving a Porsche, reached a speed of over 200 km/hour. He was arrested several hours later and spent three days in custody. McKinley pleaded guilty to a provincial offence for this incident in September 2010, at the same time he pleaded guilty to drunk driving, and agreed to pay nearly $10,000 in fines and a charitable donation. He was also placed on probation for a year.

In October 2004, McKinley, a recreational diver, became an aquanaut through his participation in the joint NASA-NOAA, NEEMO 7 (NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations) project, an exploration research mission held in Aquarius, the world's only undersea research laboratory. McKinley was the Canadian Space Agency's co-principal investigator for NEEMO 7, along with Mehran Anvari. During the mission, McKinley wrote: "It is difficult to explain what it is like living in an underwater habitat... when something passes by our windows, it is not a bird but rather a fish. And when we leave our home, we don't go for a walk but rather a swim. It must be as strange for the fish as it is for us!"

On February 28, 2003, McKinley participated in the world's first telerobotic-assisted surgery conducted at two hospitals. Dr. Mehran Anvari, the founder of CMAS, used a telerobotic system at St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton to operate a camera and surgical tools in the operating room at North Bay General Hospital, almost 400 km away. Anvari's hand, wrist and finger movements were transmitted from Hamilton to North Bay to control the camera and instruments. McKinley positioned the instruments in North Bay and controlled the electrocautery energy source. The two doctors successfully completed a laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication surgery on a patient named Claudette Fortier.

After entering private practice in North Bay in 1999, McKinley's main interest was the development of an advanced laparoscopic surgery program at the North Bay General Hospital. He was recognized as an expert in the feasibility of advanced laparoscopic surgery in a community hospital setting. McKinley published numerous peer-reviewed articles. His interests included the fields of telementored surgery, robotic surgery, and telerobotic surgery. McKinley was experienced at integrating these technologies into clinical practice.

Craig Anthony McKinley, M.D. (July 14, 1964 – February 18, 2013) was a Canadian physician. On February 28, 2003, McKinley participated in the world's first telerobotic-assisted surgery, conducted at two hospitals separated by 400 kilometres. He later served as an aquanaut on the joint NASA-NOAA NEEMO 7 underwater exploration mission in October 2004, where he and other aquanauts tested remote health care procedures with potential application for space travel. McKinley experienced problems with alcohol and faced legal difficulties beginning in 2009. He lost his hospital privileges in 2011 and died in 2013.