Enhancing Patient Care Delivery Through Supply Chain and Procurement Improvements

December 2, 2022 (Ottawa, ON) – Health care organizations nationally and internationally face an enormous challenge to deliver increased levels of service more efficiently and cost effectively. Global supply chain constraints and lengthy, complex procurement processes contribute to this challenge while providing an opportunity to evaluate potential solutions. With support from OBIO® through its Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN™), CHEO, a pediatric healthcare and research centre in Ottawa, is working with PolyUnity Tech Inc. to evaluate PolyUnity’s 3D printing / Additive Manufacturing as a Service (AMaaS) solution.

PolyUnity’s AMaaS solution will be evaluated for its ability to enable healthcare providers and their networks to design, access and produce what they need to address procurement and supply chain requirements on demand. Offering scalability across different regions and centres, including rural and remote areas, the results are a reduction in the time, cost and complexity of the traditional health care procurement processes, enhanced supply chain resiliency, and a reduced carbon footprint.

In using PolyUnity’s AMaaS solution, CHEO is exploring the use of additive manufacturing / 3D printing at its facility.

“Through the EAHN™, we have the opportunity to quickly evaluate and implement 3D printing solutions at the scale we need,” said Mark Absil, Manager of CHEO’s Clinical Engineering Department and clinical lead for the project. “We anticipate this process will enable us to save time and costs, which is important in today’s health care sector.”

Recently, three protector products created by PolyUnity were produced on-site to prevent damage to CHEO stretchers, bring them back into service, and further extend their useful lifespan.

“PolyUnity is driven by its purpose to Improve Healthcare Experiences. Our i3D.Health solution represents an exponential advancement in health-tech innovation, which includes digital product design, digital inventory and Additive Manufacturing (e.g. 3D Printing), ” said Mark Gillingham, President, PolyUnity Tech Inc. “These innovations are poised to achieve significant positive results across a healthcare organization’s financial, operational, and environmental operations, as well as realizing improved patient outcomes. We are pleased and excited to have been selected to work with CHEO and OBIO’s EAHN™ on this world class opportunity.”

“OBIO® is delighted to support this EAHN-funded evaluation between CHEO and PolyUnity, which will help healthcare organizations rethink how they tackle supply-chain and procurement issues,“ said Dr. Maura Campbell, President and CEO of OBIO®.  “We are especially pleased to welcome PolyUnity as the first company from Atlantic Canada to go through the EAHNTM program, which represents an important step in helping bring pan-Canadian innovations to the healthcare industry.”

About OBIO®

OBIO®, a not-for-profit, membership-based organization dedicated to advancing health technology innovation and commercialization, is prioritizing the evaluation of new technologies through their Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN™) to provide solutions. OBIO® is engaged in strategy, programming, policy development and advocacy to further the commercialization of human health technologies, positioning Canada as a leader in the international marketplace.

For more information, please visit OBIO.ca or contact Bibaswan Ghoshal, Director, Market Acceleration, OBIO®.

About CHEO

Dedicated to the best life for every child and youth, CHEO is a global leader in pediatric health care and research. Based in Ottawa, CHEO includes a hospital, children’s treatment centre, school and research institute, with satellite services located throughout Eastern Ontario. CHEO provides excellence in complex pediatric care, research and education. We are committed to partnering with families and the community to provide exceptional care — where, when and how it’s needed. CHEO is a partner of the Kids Come First Health Team, a network of partners working to create a high quality, standardized and coordinated system for pediatric health care that is centred around children, youth and their families. Every year, CHEO helps more than 500,000 children and youth from Eastern Ontario, western Quebec, Nunavut and Northern Ontario.

For more information, please contact Jennifer Ruff, Manager of Communications, CHEO Research Institute.

About PolyUnity Tech Inc.

PolyUnity is a Canadian healthcare technology company with a driving purpose to “Improve Healthcare Experiences”. Their mission is to partner with healthcare organizations and use agile manufacturing to provide efficient, less expensive solutions that reduce frustrations. PolyUnity’s i3D healthcare solutions significantly reduces the cost and complexity traditional healthcare procurement, builds supply chain resiliency and reduces its carbon footprint. It enables healthcare providers and their networks to design, access and produce what they need on-demand. Visit PolyUnity for more information and connect with us on LinkedIn, YouTube, and Facebook.

For more information, please contact Mark Gillingham, President, PolyUnity Tech Inc.