Innovative Digital Device Supports Health Care Workers’ Mental Health

March 30, 2022 (Ottawa, ON) – Health care worker burnout, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, has health care workers feeling increased levels of stress, worry and anxiety. Providing support to enhance health care worker resiliency and mental wellness is the rationale behind a partnership facilitated by OBIO® through its Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN™), giving Bruyère the opportunity to introduce Neurovine’s mental wellness solutions, a hospital-wide mental wellness event.

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The mental wellness event invited employees to check their mental wellness through confidential and validated mental health survey tools and review the available resources and supports at Bruyère. Upon completion of a mental health assessment, employees were offered access to the Neurovine mental wellness platform, including the personalized Neurovine mobile application, an EEG Sensorband, and curated mental wellness content on stress management, nutrition, meditation, and exercise.

“Frontline workers are the backbone of our health care system, continuing to deliver care as we have navigated the incredible stress of the pandemic,” said Blake Daly, Manager, Health Innovation, Bruyère. “We welcome the opportunity to support the mental wellness of our teams and were happy to see 10% of staff participate in this mental health check-in.”

The partnership is a unique opportunity to establish a bird’s eye view of the current state of employee mental health. De-identified and anonymized survey scores are analyzed, helping to give a broad picture of how staff are doing based on those who participated in the survey. Neurovine’s analytics can then be used to see the impact of wellness initiatives and resources, including those provided through the Neurovine application, in subsequent pulse checks.

“Neurovine is pleased to work with Bruyère in its efforts to support the mental health of their hospital staff,” said Ashleigh Kennedy, CEO & Co-Founder, Neurovine. “The ability to assess the effectiveness of the Neurovine mobile application lines of health care will facilitate broader adoption across the delivery system, ultimately helping more health care workers reach their full potential for health and well-being.”

“OBIO® is committed to supporting innovations that increase access to mental health care for health care workers, who shoulder the additional burden the pandemic has placed on the health system,” said Dr. Maura Campbell, OBIO® President and CEO. “Innovations that support health care workers are ultimately an investment in the health care delivery system itself.”

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About Bruyère

Bruyère is an academic health care organization training the next generation of health care leaders and using research and industry partnerships to improve care. Bruyère plays a unique role in the region’s health care system providing specialized hospital care, primary care, long-term care, and assisted and independent living for older adults while the Bruyère Research Institute focuses on finding the next generation of care for aging Canadians and vulnerable populations. To learn more about Bruyère, visit www.bruyere.org.

About Neurovine

Neurovine makes brain health visible and actionable through wearable technology, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. Neurovine uses portable EEG technology to read brain activity and send real-time reporting to concussion patients' mobile devices, allowing doctors to track improvement, identify triggers, and prescribe treatment, empowering patients to take control of their recovery. Visit Neurovine for more information.

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. Visit OBIO.ca for more information.

 For more information:

Bibaswan Ghoshal, Director, Market Acceleration, OBIO®

Jasmine Rooke, Manager, Research Communications, Bruyère

Dr. Ashleigh Kennedy, CEO & Co-Founder, Neurovine

Eligible patients currently receiving or seeking chronic pain treatment at select clinics in Alberta will receive access to the Manage My Pain app as part of their treatment plan

March 27, 2023 (Edmonton, AB) – ManagingLife is proud to announce its collaboration with Alberta Health Services (AHS), with funding from the Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization (OBIO®) through its Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN™), to support patients living with chronic pain across Edmonton and Calgary.

Manage My Pain, the app developed by ManagingLife, has been shown to improve the outcomes of people living with chronic pain and will be offered to patients referred to participating chronic pain clinics in both cities as part of an evaluation of the app.

Manage My Pain helps patients track their symptoms, learn self-management techniques, and communicate with their care team during clinical visits. With over 20% of Albertans living with chronic pain, this app aims to improve the quality of life and economic well-being of those affected.

A feasibility study last year yielded positive feedback from both patients and clinicians. As a result, AHS is further evaluating ManagingLife’s digital solution with a focus on health outcomes and health resource utilization.

With support from OBIO® through the EAHN™ program, AHS will evaluate Manage My Pain’s uptake and satisfaction by both patients and clinicians. Its impact will also be assessed on clinical outcomes and healthcare utilization.

Due to the high demand for the multidisciplinary chronic pain treatment clinics located in Calgary and Edmonton, patients often face long waiting times from their referral to their initial visit to a pain clinic. AHS sees digital innovation as a key component to supporting patients while they wait to be seen by the clinics as well as when they are being treated.

“OBIO® is excited to support this EAHN-funded evaluation between AHS and ManagingLife, because of the impact that innovation can have in addressing the treatment and management of chronic pain patients across Canada,“ said Dr. Maura Campbell, President and CEO of OBIO®. “This project is an example of how EAHN™ can facilitate adoption of innovative technologies across Canada to help Canadian companies establish markets domestically.”

ManagingLife’s solution, Manage My Pain, is clinically validated to improve the outcomes of people living with chronic pain. Manage My Pain allows patients to track and analyze their symptoms while providing educational content based on best practices in pain psychology about how pain works and strategies to help manage it. Reports created by the solution facilitate improved communication between patients and doctors to support treatment decisions.

About ManagingLife
ManagingLife is a privately held Corporation based in Toronto, Canada that has developed a digital solution for pain management that combines patient self-management, remote monitoring and analytics to help chronic pain sufferers and practitioners learn more about their condition and better communicate with each other. With its award-winning app, Manage My Pain, ManagingLife works with disability carriers, health plans, pain clinics, and clinical trials to help healthcare professionals better measure and manage their patients’ pain and medications. For more information, please visit managinglife.com or contact Nadia Bashir, Media Relations.

About OBIO®

Founded in 2009, 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®.

Bruyère Procures Innovative Patient Transfer Technology by Able Innovations

February 27, 2023 (Toronto, ON) – Research at the bedside has a literal meaning with Able Innovations, a Canadian robotics company focused on patient transfer technology. Today, Bruyère has announced the procurement of Able Innovations’ ALTA Platform™, a robotic patient transfer device akin to a hospital bed, for its complex care units.

Frontline health care staff perform hundreds of lateral transfers each year, moving a patient or resident from one surface to another, when bringing them between units or appointments, to facilitate bathing, or changing bedding. Patient transfers require multiple staff members for physical support and safety, and despite being a routine task, staff risk injury to themselves and transfers can be uncomfortable for patients.

Jayiesh Singh, CEO of Able Innovations, saw the struggle first-hand. His mother worked in long-term care, and while he volunteered there, he realized how physically demanding and resource intensive lifts and transfers could be. Along with co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, Philip Chang, he seized the opportunity to build change from the ground up with his idea for a robotic transfer platform that would give both staff and patients a better experience.

The work began in 2019, when Singh approached Bruce Wallace, Executive Director of the AGE-WELL SAM3 National Innovation Hub, Adjunct Research Professor at Carleton University, and investigator with the Bruyère Research Institute, whose work specializes in sensors and smart technology to support aging. Their first research study, funded by AGE-WELL, looked at how their new transfer method might reduce the risk of injury and discomfort for patients, successfully finding factors that contribute to bruising, contusions, skin tears, and abrasions, were all significantly reduced compared to existing transfer methods.

“The success of this project has hinged on the continued transparent feedback we’ve had from clinical staff, patients, and researchers,” said Singh. “We had insights into the nuances of the problem very early on in the process, which has been a critical part of ensuring our designs are practical and easy to use.”

Consultations and research turned into prototype development and soon after, a full-scale platform was launched, leveraging an automated sliding platform to move a patient from bed to ALTA, and back again with the push of a button.

“AGE-WELL is proud to have funded this ground-breaking work from the very start, from research and early testing through to implementation,” said Alex Mihailidis, Scientific Director and CEO of AGE-WELL. “As Canada’s technology and aging network, AGE-WELL’s investment across the research and innovation pipeline is paying dividends in products like this one that address real-world challenges and benefit Canadians.”

Able Innovations began to pursue their commercialization journey with support from OBIO®, preparing them for early-stage fundraising, business development, and building their workforce. Through funding and advisory support from OBIO’s Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN™), and with additional funding through AGE-WELL’s AgeTech Implementation Response program, Able Innovations found its way back to Bruyère to be evaluated for procurement.

In the summer of 2022, the commercial-ready ALTA Platform was brought to Bruyère’s complex care units where it was compared against current transfer methods and assessed on its ability to make patient transfers effortless, less time consuming, safer, and more dignified for both staff and patients. Throughout the project, real-time feedback has allowed Able Innovations to modify and improve the device’s functionality to meet the specific needs of the hospital and patient population.

“We are excited to help accelerate the deployment and adoption of Able Innovations’ technology,” said Maura Campbell, President and CEO of OBIO®. “This evaluation project is a great example of how Canadian innovations can move to procurement and be adopted by Canadian healthcare organizations. It shows that there is a tangible and meaningful impact on clinical teams by reducing physical strain and wait times.”

“From the first prototype, we knew this technology could be transforming care at Bruyère,” said Paula Doering, Senior Vice President of Clinical Programs, Chief Nursing Executive and Allied Health Professionals at Bruyère. “This project has shown how important collaboration across our organizations is in order to tackle the challenges our front line is facing and improve how we care for the people we serve.”

The ALTA Platform becomes a permanent part of care at Bruyère this month.

ABOUT ABLE INNOVATIONS

Able Innovations™ is a robotics company developing technology that allows front-line healthcare staff to do-more-with-less. Able’s ALTA Platform™ automates one of the most labor-intensive tasks in healthcare- patient transfers (e.g. moving a patient from bed to stretcher). Now more than ever, facilities are drawn to the value Able can provide and see ALTA as a tool to protect and help retain staff.

ABOUT AGE-WELL

AGE-WELL NCE Inc. is Canada’s Technology and Aging Network. The pan-Canadian network brings together researchers, older adults, caregivers, partner organizations and future leaders to accelerate the delivery of technology-based solutions that make a meaningful difference in the lives of Canadians. AGE-WELL researchers are producing technologies, services, policies and practices that improve quality of life for older adults and caregivers, and generate social and economic benefits for Canada. AGE-WELL is funded through the federal Networks of Centres of Excellence program.

ABOUT BRUYÈRE

Bruyère is an academic health care organization training the next generation of health care leaders and using research and industry partnerships to improve care. Bruyère plays a unique role in the region’s health care system providing specialized hospital care, primary care, long-term care, and assisted and independent living for older adults while the Bruyère Research Institute focuses on finding the next generation of care for aging Canadians and vulnerable populations. To learn more about Bruyère, visit www.bruyere.org.

ABOUT OBIO®

Founded in 2009, the Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization (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. Visit OBIO.ca for more information.

Hamilton Health Sciences and Voyce Canada to evaluate video remote medical interpretation services

February 23, 2023 (Ottawa, ON) – As language barriers in healthcare settings persist, OBIO®, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing health technology innovation and commercialization, is funding the evaluation and adoption of innovative technologies in Canada’s healthcare systems through its Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN™). Through the EAHN™ program, OBIO® has facilitated a partnership between Hamilton Health Sciences and Voyce Canada, a Toronto-based technology driven company offering a simple and seamless language interpretation solution, to evaluate Voyce’s medical interpretation platform. 

“Voyce’s on-demand interpretation services caught the attention of EAHN™ because of its potential to decrease medical errors and enhance the patient care experience. EAHN™ facilitated an evaluation of the Voyce platform with Hamilton Health Sciences to put the technology through its paces in a real-world setting.” – Dr. Maura Campbell, CEO, OBIO®. 

Voyce Canada provides language interpretation services in over 240 languages and dialects, including American Sign Language (ASL), to hospitals and healthcare systems. By connecting users with a medically-trained and certified interpreter in often less than 20 seconds, patients can receive PHIPA-compliant care in their own language, allowing staff to communicate more effectively with patients, ultimately reducing the time to deliver care. 

“Linguistic diversity can impact access to care during health care encounters and preventative health services. By partnering with Voyce, we hope to address these language barriers and provide health care equity to our community.” – Ted Scott, Chief Innovation Officer, Hamilton Health Sciences 

A successful evaluation will demonstrate Voyce’s value in emergency departments, inpatient and ambulatory/outpatient settings and help address any adoption barriers to allow for full implementation across healthcare organizations.  

“Language and cultural barriers are one of the many concerns for providing accessible and equitable care around the world. In their most vulnerable moments, Voyce provides a comfortable platform for patients to communicate with their providers, leading to improved care outcomes.” – Andrew Royce, CEO. 

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. To learn more, visit: obio.ca.

About Voyce Canada   

Voyce is a technology driven company deeply committed to helping people in need that are facing language barriers, enabling them to easily and quickly communicate and get help. Voyce’s professional and qualified language interpreters provide interpretation across a variety of technology and telehealth platforms in 240 languages and dialects, including American Sign Language. Across the U.S., Canada, U.K. and globally, Voyce supports thousands of sessions a day, providing language assistance to those in need. Learn more at voyceglobal.com and follow Voyce on LinkedIn. 

About Hamilton Health Sciences 

Hamilton Health Sciences is a community of 15,000 staff, physicians, researchers and volunteers that proudly serves southwestern Ontario residents. It is the only hospital in Ontario that cares for all ages, from pre-birth to end-of-life and offers world-leading expertise in many areas, including cardiac and stroke care, cancer care, palliative care and pediatrics. Hamilton Health Sciences is also a world-renowned hospital for healthcare research and has a daily focus on improving the quality of care for patients through innovation and evidence-based practices. 

Contacts 

For more information about OBIO’s Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN™), or if you are interested in joining the Network, please contact: Bibaswan Ghoshal, Director, Market Acceleration, OBIO®

For more information about Voyce Canada, please contact: Ryan Wagner, Voyce 

For more information about Hamilton Health Sciences, please contact: Wendy Stewart, Communications Advisor, Hamilton Health Sciences

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OBIO® Introduces Virtual Fall Prevention Rehab Program to the Home & Community Care Sector

February 22, 2023 (Ottawa, ON) – Canada’s aging population combined with the desire to keep people in their homes for as long as possible presents an opportunity to expand virtual care across a broader range of healthcare services. With support from OBIO® through the Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN™), Phyxable is partnering with Right at Home Canada to introduce AgeWell, which is an exercise program delivered through Phyxable’s virtual rehabilitation platform that is designed to prevent falls.

Phyxable’s AgeWell platform combines one-on-one virtual rehabilitation with self-guided home exercise programs, enabling practitioners to customize the programs for patients. The AgeWell program enables patients to more easily engage with the content and better fulfill their rehabilitation goals. The EAHN™ evaluation will examine the accessibility of the service and its ability to improve health outcomes while easing the burden on healthcare systems.

“Falls are the leading cause of injury among older adults,” said Dani DePetrillo, COO at Right at Home Canada. “The AgeWell exercise program provides Right at Home clients with one more tool to help them successfully and safely age in place through guided strength-building exercises.”

“AgeWell helps make it possible for prevention to start at home,” said Jim Feng, Phyxable’s CEO and Co-Founder. “We believe that a customized exercise plan delivered in the home encourages an active lifestyle and builds confidence, resulting in fewer falls and fewer doctor visits, which is a win-win for both the patient and the system.”

“Home and community care services are an integral, yet often overlooked component of the healthcare delivery system,” said Dr. Maura Campbell, OBIO® President and CEO. “Through the EAHN™ program, OBIO® is pleased to support Right at Home and Phyxable in evaluating this unique rehabilitation service, which also represents OBIO’s inaugural expansion into the home and community care sector.”

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. To learn more, visit: obio.ca.

About Right at Home Canada

Right at Home is one of the largest providers of in-home supportive care services, staffing and employer solutions, globally. With over 600 Care Offices in 8 countries around the world, and 55 offices in Canada, they are a trusted resource for tens of thousands of families, clients, residential living organizations, employers and government agencies in the delivery of a wide variety of highly personalized, quality supportive care services to individuals and residents in their home, wherever home is to them. Their in-home care and staffing solution services assist clients and residents with a full range of professional care services supporting a wide range of physical, health and cognitive challenges.

Right at Home is an international brand with a 30-year history of providing professional care services. Of that time, they have been supporting Canadian families under the Right at Home Canada brand for the past 10 years, growing to 55 offices in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and PEI.

About Phyxable

Phyxable is an innovative online solution for post-operative and care at home patients, which includes physiotherapy, chiropractic and occupational therapy through an end-to-end virtual rehabilitation platform. Phyxable provides a hybrid model of care that integrates one-on-one practitioner tele-rehabilitation and self-guided home-based programs that enhance the clinical experience. Visit Phyxable for more information.

For more information: 

Bibaswan Ghoshal, Director, Market Acceleration, OBIO®

Rica Esguerra, National Director of Community Engagement, Right at Home Canada

Jim Feng, CEO and Co-Founder, Phyxable

Canadian Health Science Innovations Attract Global Investment at the Sixth OBIO® Investment Summit

Toronto, ON – February 14, 2023 – Global investors and strategic pharma licensing teams met with some of Canada’s most promising early-stage health science company leaders and our top research institutions at the OBIO® Investment Summit from February 8-10, 2023. The sixth edition of the annual Summit, held at First Canadian Place in Toronto, showcased Canada’s early-stage life science industry to the global investment community.

“The Summit brings together Canada’s most promising early-stage life science companies to share their state-of-the-art innovative technologies with global investors, showcasing the strength of our industry and the opportunity for investment across Canada,” said Dr. Maura Campbell, OBIO® President and CEO. “The Summit continues to build on the success of the Canadian ecosystem, and we are proud of our efforts to help companies anchor in Canada and develop their innovative technologies at home.”

The OBIO® Investment Summit attracts investment to Canada and Ontario, and since 2018, Canadian companies that presented at the Summit have raised more than CAD $1.3 B. “Each year we build on our past success,” added Dr. Campbell. “The 2023 Summit featured our first-ever Pharma Licensing Forum, where 9 global pharmaceutical companies met with Canadian biotechnology companies looking to out-license their technologies and develop research collaborations.”

OBIO® has received support from the Government of Canada through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) to assist with various programs including the, CAAP®, EAHN™ and WiHI. “Providing better health care for Canadians means investing in the organizations that support innovators and research institutions. The work that OBIO® is doing helps grow Canadian-made health technologies and encourages participation of women in leadership roles in the health sector,” said the Honourable Filomena Tassi, Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario. “OBIO’s Investment Summit is an important networking opportunity that is strengthening our healthcare institutions for the health and wellbeing of all Canadians.”

“Part of building Ontario is ensuring that companies, innovators and entrepreneurs have the support they need to succeed and advance next-generation technologies,” said Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. “The OBIO® Investment Summit has provided Ontario’s life sciences sector a great opportunity to showcase their world-class talent and ingenuity, and our government is proud to have supported this event. Together, we’re building Ontario and ensuring that our province remains at the forefront of life sciences innovation and a global leader in life sciences.”

The OBIO® Investment Summit’s success, and that of the entire industry, can only be achieved with the support of a strong, collaborative ecosystem. These include Canada’s pre-eminent research and post-secondary academic institutions, technology incubators and accelerators, entrepreneurs, start-ups, healthcare organizations and multinationals, all of whom are working together to develop the industry and pursue every opportunity for growth.

"Having a strong ecosystem to help new companies accelerate commercialization of their innovations is important to attracting investment to the Canadian life science industry,” says Anne Woods, Managing Director of Life Sciences and Healthcare at Silicon Valley Bank in Toronto. “Investors and licensing professionals rely on the Canadian ecosystem to support health science businesses to develop their intellectual property and scale domestically.”

“We were delighted to present at the OBIO® Investment Summit,” says Dr. Wendy Naimark, Chief Technology Officer, Ripple Therapeutics, a clinical stage ophthalmic therapeutics company focused on sustained drug delivery without the use of polymers or excipients. “OBIO® gave us the skills we needed to present our novel therapeutics and the right forum to foster relationships with investors outside of our network.”

OBIO® looks forward to collaborating with our ecosystem partners to develop the life science industry and foster investment in Canada through future summits.

About OBIO®

The Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization (OBIO®) founded in 2009, is a not-for-profit, membership-based organization 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. OBIO® advances this goal through collaborative partnerships with industry, the investment community, academia, the health system and government.

For more information, please visit www.obio.ca and follow OBIO® on LinkedIn and Twitter.

About FedDev Ontario

For 13 years, the Government of Canada, through FedDev Ontario, has worked to advance and diversify the southern Ontario economy through funding opportunities and business services that support innovation, growth and job creation in Canada’s most populous region. The Agency has delivered impressive results, which can be seen in southern Ontario businesses that are creating innovative technologies, improving productivity, growing revenues, creating jobs, and in the economic advancement of communities across the region. Learn more about the impacts the Agency is having in southern Ontario by exploring our pivotal projects, our Southern Ontario Spotlight, and FedDev Ontario’s Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Revolutionary surgery closure device evaluated at Alberta Health Services

February 6, 2023 (Toronto, ON) – Research shows that almost 1 in 5 open abdomen procedures in the US are left intentionally open for further treatment and later closed. However, a staggering 38% of these “fail to close”. This results in additional visits to the operating room (OR) for sequential closure. The risks of infection, prolonged time on a ventilator, loss of domain, increased attendant time, increased OR time, and even mortality resulting from these additional visits add a costly burden to the healthcare system.

With support from OBIO® through its Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN™), Alberta Health Services (AHS) is working with Ontario-based InventoRR MD to evaluate AbClo, InventoRR MD’s innovative flagship device for closing an open abdominal incision without surgery. By offering a non-invasive method of closing an incision at the patient’s bedside, AbClo improves patient safety and experience, while freeing up OR staff for other procedures.

AbClo works like a corset, supporting and stabilizing the abdominal wall to prevent damage and restore the equilibrium of the muscles in the torso. It can be applied in the ICU where it is sequentially tightened at the bedside so that the edges of the abdominal wall can meet in the middle for reattachment. While prescribed by a physician, it can be applied and monitored by other authorized healthcare providers, such as nurses.

InventoRR MD CEO Chris Bass notes, “AbClo was developed to improve patient outcomes and make the post-surgical process easier for medical teams.  We appreciate the opportunity EAHN™ has given us to work with the AHS on this evaluation, and the potential to expand our footprint in Alberta.”

“OBIO® is pleased to support this EAHN™ evaluation, the first with Alberta Health Services,” said Dr. Maura Campbell, President and CEO of OBIO®.  “The collaboration provides InventoRR MD with the real-world setting to test its technology and help encourage broader adoption of AbClo in Alberta, and utlimately across the Canadian healthcare system.”

About InventoRR MD

InventoRR is a medical device company bringing market innovations built by the clinical teams and researchers who work day in and day out to save the lives of the patients they serve.

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. To learn more, visit: obio.ca.

Contacts

For more information about OBIO’s Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN™), or if you are interested in joining the Network, please contact: Bibaswan Ghoshal, Director, Market Acceleration, Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization

For more information about InventoRR MD, please contact: Chriss Bass, CEO, InventoRR MD

For more information about Alberta Health Services, please contact: Daniela Robu, Director, Innovation and Business Intelligence, AHS

MEMOTEXT and CAMH Awarded Funding from OBIO’s Early Adopter Health Network to Trial Automated Mental Health Texting Check-in, Support & Navigation Tool

January 26, 2023 (Toronto, ON) – MEMOTEXT Corp. (www.memotext.com), North America’s leading platform for digital patient engagement co-creation has partnered with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) with help from the Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization (OBIO®) through its Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN™) to enhance adoption of a novel SMS-based interactive mental health tool. The MEMOTEXT BeWell program is a validated, just-in-time-adaptive-intervention for mental health engagement. Co-created by Dr. Gillian Strudwick and Dr. Tracie Risling on the MEMOTEXT platform, the automated intervention checks-in on users and sends relevant mental health and resilience support based on individual needs. 

OBIO® advances health technology innovation and commercialization through the (EAHN™) program, providing funding for studies to help healthcare organizations access innovations. With this funding, CAMH will offer the MEMOTEXT BeWell program to its social workers and occupational therapists.  The SMS program will share psychoeducation resources to help maintain or improve the well-being of employees for 12-week cycles. Resources include curated digital mental health tools, wellness supports, mindfulness tips as well as the promotion of eligible mental health resources.  

There is a need to provide support, relief and tools to help with stress and burnout for all healthcare workers. An organizational study completed in July 2022 stated that social workers and occupational therapists had high rates of burnout compared to other health disciplines. 50.0% of social workers and 21.3% of occupational therapists reported one or more symptoms of burnout, including emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and/or a reduced sense of personal accomplishment. “Through this collaboration with CAMH enabled by OBIO®, we’re demonstrating how engagement can be enhanced with the right message at the right time in the right context. We are excited to bring this to the employees of CAMH to offer support for their mental health and well-being”, says Dr. Gillian Strudwick. 

Dr. Maura Campbell, OBIO’s President and CEO, noted “In the past 3 years, burnout of healthcare workers has been at an all-time high, and OBIO® is proud to support the collaboration between the MEMOTEXT BeWell program and CAMH to help improve the well-being of those who are working so hard to care for patients in need.” 

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. To learn more, visit: obio.ca.

About the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH): CAMH is Canada’s largest mental health and addiction teaching hospital and a world leading research centre in this field. CAMH combines clinical care, research, education, policy development and health promotion to help transform the lives of people affected by mental illness and addiction. CAMH is fully affiliated with the University of Toronto, and is a Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization Collaborating Centre. 

About MEMOTEXT: Trusted since 2012, MEMOTEXT is a platform for co-creation of digital patient engagement communications and digital therapeutics. MEMOTEXT uses health data to identify risk and tailor secure, omni-channel treatment adherence, care-coordination and support communications. MEMOTEXT enables academics/clinicians and commercial partners to co-create evidence-based communications and digital therapeutics (DTx). Together, MEMOTEXT commercializes those interventions with North American provider, insurer and pharmaceutical clients on their digital engagement marketplace. 

For more information:  

Bibaswan Ghoshal, Director, Market Acceleration, OBIO®  

Amos Adler, M.Sc., CEO, MEMOTEXT 

Kingston Health Sciences Centre ensures the beat goes on with virtual cardiac monitoring

January 24, 2023 (Ottawa, ON) – An evaluation that allows for ambulatory monitoring of cardiac patients at Kingston Health Sciences Centre (KHSC) is receiving support for their partnership with m-Health Solutions from the Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization (OBIO®), through its Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN™).

m-Health Solutions’ Panorama 360 is a proprietary software platform that allows for a patient to be monitored virtually via a medical device that sends data back to a centralized facility where cardiac technologists review the information and send a report to the patient’s cardiologist.

“The m-Health Solutions system is helping us renew our technology with state-of-the-art patient-friendly monitors and analysis software,” said Dr. Michael O’Reilly, cardiologist at KHSC. “It is a critical part of our outpatient diagnostic program.”

“This initiative, made possible by the EAHN™ program, will enable us to demonstrate our longstanding expertise and ability to work together with our partners to optimize and improve workflows, while focusing on our common quest to improve patient experience. m-Health Solutions and our parent company, the ELNA Medical Group, are delighted to take part in a project that dovetails perfectly with our overarching mission to empower both patients and physicians through use of advanced and innovative technology designed to provide better continuity of care and better outcomes,” said Sandy Schwenger, CEO of m-Health Solutions.

OBIO’s President and CEO Dr. Maura Campbell notes, “The collaboration between KHSC and m-Health Solutions is a great example of what EAHN™ program was established to do – match local companies developing made-in-Canada innovative technologies with healthcare organizations to evaluate these technologies with the goal of procurement, leading to greater adoption across the Canadian healthcare system.”

About Kingston Health Sciences Centre

Kingston Health Sciences Centre (KHSC) is southeastern Ontario’s complex, acute and specialty care, research and teaching hospital. Consisting of the Hotel Dieu site and Kingston General site, as well as the Cancer Centre of Southeastern Ontario and the research institute, they care for more than 500,000 patients and their families from across the region. As one of the region’s largest employers, they are home to almost 6,000 staff, more than 2,000 health-care learners and 1,000 volunteers who are committed to partnering with patients and families to ensure that they continually provide high quality, compassionate care. Fully affiliated with Queen’s University, KHSC is ranked as one of Canada’s top research hospitals.

About m-Health Solutions

An ELNA Medical Group company, m-Health Solutions specializes in remote patient monitoring and cardiac diagnostics. Using leading-edge technologies, m-Health Solutions has created a system where the patient is at the centre of care. Their easy-to-wear ambulatory ECG technologies allow patients to be fully mobile and go about their daily routine, which dramatically improves patient compliance.

Their cloud-based reporting services deliver faster results to facilitate a quicker treatment pathway. Their evidence-based offerings focus on improving the patient monitoring experience and provide better connected care, which can reduce wait time, hospitalization costs, and help end hallway health care.

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. To learn more, visit: obio.ca.

For more information:

Bibaswan Ghoshal, Director, Market Acceleration, OBIO®

John Pereira, Media Relations, Kingston Health Sciences Centre

Sandy Schwenger, CEO, m-Health Solutions 

AI-enabled scheduling system is improving the patient experience in medical imaging

January 13, 2023 (Toronto, ON) – Increased demand for medical imaging due to its wider adoption in the prevention, detection and treatment of medical conditions has resulted in a “hurry-up and wait” experience for many patients in the healthcare system. With support from OBIO’s Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN™), NextUp Care is working with Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre (Sunnybrook) to improve medical imaging scheduling turnaround time by evaluating NextUp Care’s AI-enabled Intelligent Patient Scheduling Platform (‘Platform’).

Traditional scheduling begins with a physician referral and ends with a patient receiving imaging. However, this is often a manual, time-consuming and costly process that contributes to the turnaround time before patients get notified of their imaging appointment. NextUp Care’s Platform reinvents the process, using scheduling algorithms to automate the appointment booking process and optimize resource utilization. The Platform allows patients and/or caregivers to confirm, remind or cancel appointments via text messaging, which improves patient engagement.

“Imaging is a critical component of diagnosis and treatment,” said Henry Sinn, Director of Medical Imaging at Sunnybrook. “Reducing scheduling turnaround times through an improved and automated scheduling solution is a significant step towards ensuring that patients receive the right care at the right time.”

Wayne Li, NextUp Care’s CEO noted that “by facilitating this collaboration with Sunnybrook, EAHN™ made it possible for us to evaluate our Platform in a world-class healthcare facility. This paves the way for its wider adoption across the healthcare system, and the realization of significant operational efficiencies and improved patient satisfaction.”

“EAHN™ supports the evaluation of technologies that provide value when measured against the Quadruple Aim of Healthcare – patient experience, population health, caregiver wellbeing and cost,” said Dr. Maura Campbell, President and CEO of OBIO®. “This collaborative and cost-effective evaluation to improve access to medical imaging for thousands of patients through this Platform provides a wonderful example of what EAHN™ can deliver.”

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About NextUp Care
NextUp Care is automating healthcare – one appointment at a time. Our Intelligent Patient Scheduling Platform enables healthcare providers to automate and optimize scheduling for advanced medical imaging services. The Platform can algorithmically schedule patients without manual intervention and instantly notify patients via text message. NextUp Care is committed to improving access to care in our healthcare system.

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. Visit OBIO® for more information.

About Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre is inventing the future of health care for the 1.3 million patients the hospital cares for each year through the dedication of its more than 10,000 staff and volunteers. An internationally recognized leader in research and education and a full affiliation with the University of Toronto distinguishes Sunnybrook as one of Canada’s premier academic health sciences centres. Sunnybrook specializes in caring for high-risk pregnancies, critically ill newborns and adults, offering specialized rehabilitation, and treating and preventing cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurological and psychiatric disorders, orthopaedic and arthritic conditions and traumatic injuries. The hospital also has a unique and national leading program for the care of Canada’s war veterans.

Contacts

For more information, please contact:

Bibaswan Ghoshal, Director, Market Acceleration at OBIO®

Wayne Li, CEO at NextUp Care

Henry Sinn, Director of Medical Imaging at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Lisa Di Prospero, Director, Practice-based Research and Innovation at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

The Ottawa Hospital and Princess Margaret Cancer Centre partner with Gray Oncology Solutions to tackle important operational challenges in radiation oncology

January 12, 2023 (Ottawa, ON) – Gray Oncology Solutions’ novel module for radiation therapy, GrayOS, is the first of its kind to be deployed in Ontario. The Ottawa Hospital (TOH), University Health Network (UHN), and Gray Oncology Solutions Inc. (Gray), with support from OBIO® through its Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN™), are evaluating GrayOS’ ability to build radiation therapy schedules that better manage patient wait times while using hospital resources most effectively.

GrayOS is an operating system for oncology that draws on operations research and artificial intelligence to automate and optimize patient scheduling within and across departments. GrayOS for radiation therapy has the potential to unlock additional hospital capacity that will help cancer centres treat more patients, with the same resources and quality of care.

“We hope that by implementing GrayOS, we will see an improvement in clinical workflow, a reduction in the amount of manual coordination required in scheduling, and evidence of cost savings,” said Dr. Richard Tsang, Interim Chair of Radiation Oncology at UHN’s Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.

“As treatments and processes in the radiation therapy workflow become increasingly complex, we are looking forward to seeing GrayOS make care delivery simpler and more efficient for both patients and staff,” said Dr. Srinivas Raman, the physician co-leading the evaluation of GrayOS at UHN’s Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. “The collaboration between ourselves, Gray, and OBIO® will provide an important opportunity to evaluate a novel technology with the aim of refining systems and automating processes, which is a strategic goal of our Radiation Medicine Program.”

“Innovative healthcare partnerships like this will help streamline care in the Ottawa region by optimizing how radiation therapy patients are scheduled and treated,” said Melissa Diffey, Manager of the Radiation Medicine Program at The Ottawa Hospital. “We are grateful for this opportunity to collaborate with Gray to continue delivering high-quality radiation treatment while contributing to the overall patient experience.”

“TOH and OBIO® have a history of collaboration in delivering high-quality and innovative solutions to address healthcare challenges,” said Dr. Alan Forster, Chief Innovation and Quality Officer at The Ottawa Hospital. “As one of our four projects with OBIO®, the partnership with Gray is an opportunity to use innovation to help elevate and streamline how we deliver care to our patients.”

“We appreciate the enthusiasm of our hospital partners and the opportunity made possible by EAHN™ to help bring our solution to Ontario,” said André Diamant, CEO of Gray.  “A successful evaluation will provide an opportunity to engage with other hospitals to help reimagine treatment scheduling for cancer patients.”

OBIO’s President and CEO, Dr. Maura Campbell, noted that EAHN™ provides a valuable opportunity for Canadian early-stage companies to partner with healthcare organizations to test their products.  “We are pleased that TOH and UHN can evaluate GrayOS with support from EAHN™ to resolve critical scheduling issues in oncology in the interest of enhancing patient care,” Dr. Campbell said.

Results from the EAHN™ evaluation are expected in the first half of 2023. Deploying GrayOS has saved the Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal, where GrayOS was co-developed, $250K annually and reduced administrative burdens by 80%, all while improving staff satisfaction.

For more information:

Alison Jennings, Manager (acting) Digital Innovation, The Ottawa Hospital

Mark Taylor, Director, Commercialization, University Health Network

André Diamant, CEO, Gray Oncology Solutions Inc.

Bibaswan Ghoshal, Director, Market Acceleration, OBIO®

About The Ottawa Hospital

The Ottawa Hospital is one of Canada’s top learning and research hospitals, where excellent care is inspired by research and driven by compassion. As the third-largest employer in Ottawa, our support staff, researchers, nurses, physicians, and volunteers never stop seeking solutions to the most complex healthcare challenges. Their multi-campus hospital, affiliated with the University of Ottawa, attracts some of the most influential scientific minds from around the world. Backed by generous support from the community, they are committed to providing the world-class, compassionate care they would want for their loved ones. Visit The Ottawa Hospital for more information.

About University Health Network

University Health Network consists of Toronto General and Toronto Western Hospitals, the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, and The Michener Institute of Education at UHN. The scope of research and complexity of cases at University Health Network has made it a national and international source for discovery, education and patient care. It has the largest hospital-based research program in Canada, with major research in cardiology, transplantation, neurosciences, oncology, surgical innovation, arthritis, vision, infectious diseases, genomic medicine and rehabilitation medicine. University Health Network is a research hospital affiliated with the University of Toronto. For more information: www.uhn.ca

About Gray Oncology Solutions Inc.

Gray Oncology Solutions (Montréal-based start-up) has a vision of a healthcare ecosystem with no resources wasted. In pursuit of this vision, they have developed an “operating system” which simplifies cancer treatment by streamlining workflows across multiple points of cancer care (GrayOS). Operationally, this translates to the optimization & automation of patient scheduling while explicitly incorporating the complex multi-disciplinary workflow resulting in increased access to care, reduced patient wait times, increased patient/staff satisfaction and ultimately superior patient care. Visit Gray for more information.

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. Visit OBIO® for more information.

Celebrating Women Leaders Making a Difference in the Health Science Industry

January 11, 2023 (Toronto, ON) – Following a competitive application process, the Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization (OBIO®) is pleased to announce the eight successful awardees of the inaugural Women in Health Initiative’s (WiHI) Business Leadership Program (“Program”).

“OBIO’s Women in Health Initiative is designed to increase the participation and advancement of women in the health and life sciences sector,” said Dr. Maura Campbell, President & CEO of OBIO®. “This is especially critical at the leadership level where women can serve as role models, attract a more diverse workforce and change workplace policies to ensure greater inclusivity. This program supports the realization of these goals.”

More than 50 promising candidates from a range of early-stage Ontario life science companies developing therapeutics, medical devices, diagnostics or digital health technologies were considered.

Each candidate was assessed based on their educational and professional background, their impact on their company, their contributions to the ecosystem and the skills and background they collectively bring to the Program. “It was a very difficult decision to select only eight recipients from this incredibly talented pool of individuals. We are looking at alternative ways to support all those who applied,” added Dr. Campbell.

The successful applicants (each of whom receive a $50K wage subsidy) will participate in OBIO®’s networking events and contribute as mentor leaders to a community for women’s professional development, further supporting workforce development in a sector where women are underrepresented.

The initiative is funded with support from the Government of Canada, through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario). “Increasing the involvement of women in the health and life sciences sector will diversify perspectives and ideas to increase innovation. With these eight award recipients, OBIO’s WiHI Business Leadership Program is demonstrating how investing in women’s potential can lead to a strong and diverse community. This in turn will contribute to a growing economy that works for everyone,” said the Honourable Filomena Tassi, Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario. “The Government of Canada congratulates the eight successful applicants, and we look forward to the amazing work you will develop and foster for years to come.”>

“The OBIO® Board and staff offer heartfelt congratulations to these eight talented women and commend all of those who applied to the Program,” said Dr. Campbell. To learn more about the awardees of the inaugural WiHI Business Leadership Program, click here.

On Thursday, January 26 at the MaRS Discovery Centre in Toronto, OBIO® is hosting a networking session that includes a panel discussion featuring the Program awardees. For more information or to register, click here.

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About OBIO®
Founded in 2009, OBIO® is a not-for-profit membership-based innovation organization engaged in strategy, programming, policy development and advocacy to further the commercialization of human health technologies that position Canada as a leader in the international marketplace. OBIO® advances this goal through collaborative partnerships with industry, the investment community, academia, the health care system and government.  For more information, please visit www.obio.ca and follow OBIO® on LinkedIn and Twitter.

About FedDev Ontario
For 13 years, the Government of Canada, through FedDev Ontario, has worked to advance and diversify the southern Ontario economy through funding opportunities and business services that support innovation, growth and job creation in Canada’s most populous region. The Agency has delivered impressive results, which can be seen in southern Ontario businesses that are creating innovative technologies, improving productivity, growing revenues, creating jobs, and in the economic advancement of communities across the region. Learn more about the impacts the Agency is having in southern Ontario by exploring our pivotal projects, our Southern Ontario Spotlight, and FedDev Ontario’s Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Edward Hutchinson
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister responsible for the
Federal Economic Development Agency
for Southern Ontario
edward.hutchinson@feddevontario.gc.ca

For more information:
Doriane Rey
Manager, Marketing & Events
Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization
dorianerey@obio.ca

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.

OBIO® Appoints New Chair & Board Members to Plan for the Future of the Healthcare Innovation Sector

TORONTO, December 1, 2022 – OBIO®, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing health technology innovation and commercialization, is pleased to announce the appointment of a new chair of its board of directors, Frank Florio, as well as the addition of three new members, Dr. Wendy Naimark, Naheed Kurji and Anne Woods.

Mr. Florio, an accomplished healthcare and life sciences industry executive, is passionate about cultivating and commercializing healthcare innovations. In his role as SVP, Corporate Strategy, Business Development and Commercialization, he leads the efforts of Canadian SME Myant Inc. in commercializing their Digital Health Platform and innovative Wearable Technology solutions based upon Textile Computing™ in the cardiovascular health market. Prior to this, he held several executive roles at BD over 16 years, and advised and mentored start-ups in the healthcare industry. Mr. Florio holds an MBA from Queen's University Smith School of Business, an undergraduate degree from Wilfred Laurier University and an ICD.D from the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Dr. Naimark is co-founder and CTO of Ripple Therapeutics, a spin-out of Interface Biologics, that is based on a discovery that fundamentally changes the way drugs can be sustainably delivered. Prior to her return to Canada, Dr. Naimark led the clinical development of a novel drug eluting scaffold at 480 Biomedical (founders included Dr. Robert Langer from MIT). She began her industry career in drug delivery at Boston Scientific in the group which developed the TAXUS® Drug Eluting Stent. Dr. Naimark earned her PhD in Biomaterials from the University of Toronto and began developing her career in local drug delivery at Caltech during her post-doctoral fellowship. Dr. Naimark is an inventor of over 30 patents in the local drug delivery field.

Mr. Kurji is the co-founder, president and CEO of Cyclica, a neo-biotech that is unlocking the protein universe to discover the medicines of tomorrow. Mr. Kurji is also co-founder and director of EntheogeniX Biosciences, a psychedelic-inspired biotech company for mental health, he chairs the board of the Alliance for Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare (AAIH) and serves as a member of the Life Sciences Advisory Group for Global Affairs Canada. Mr. Kurji holds an MBA from the Rotman School of Business, an undergraduate degree from the University of Ottawa, and a certificate in Artificial Intelligence from MIT.

Ms. Woods is the managing director of healthcare and life science at Silicon Valley Bank Canada where she brings a combined 25 years of experience in both capital markets and life sciences. Her role allows her to contribute to the growth of the ecosystem in Canada by providing unique access and insights into markets, companies, and investors. Ms. Woods holds a BSc from McGill University, a MA from the University of Guelph and is a CFA Charterholder.

Mr. Florio, Dr. Naimark, Mr. Kurji and Ms. Woods will serve alongside a board of directors with experience and expertise in areas critical to OBIO’s mission to advance the commercialization of early-stage Canadian health science companies by strengthening the ecosystem through advocacy and programming.

“The appointment of Mr. Florio, Dr. Naimark, Mr. Kurji and Ms. Woods is exciting news for OBIO®. All four appointees bring a wealth of experience and insight that will help OBIO® deliver on our mission. We look forward to the guidance each of them brings to OBIO® as we enable Canadian health science companies to raise capital, develop their workforce and facilitate adoption of innovation in the healthcare system,” says Dr. Maura Campbell, President and CEO of OBIO®.

OBIO® members will have the opportunity to meet Mr. Florio, Dr. Campbell and the rest of the Board at the upcoming OBIO® Annual General Meeting on December 8, 2022. This will be followed by a public meeting and reception open to all OBIO® members, their colleagues and extended network. To register, click here.

Grand River Hospital partners with TAMVOES Health to empower patients during their healthcare journey

As part of furthering innovation and research at Grand River Hospital (GRH), GRH will team up with local start-up TAMVOES with help from OBIO® to implement a tool that has been designed to help patients manage, track and share their health information, appointments and care plans.

The TAMVOES health management platform is designed to empower patients during their healthcare journey and it will be piloted at GRH to see whether it helps to enhance communication across the healthcare continuum. The platform’s goal is to help patients share their healthcare journey without repeating their story to different individuals.

OBIO® is working to advance health technology innovation and commercialization by providing funding for these studies through its Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN™) designed to help healthcare organizations access innovations that can impact the patient’s journey.

“This EAHN™ project with Grand River Hospital will test the TAMVOES platform through a study in one of its cancer clinics to measure the benefits of the tool for cancer patients and their caregivers,” said Dr. Maura Campbell, President and CEO, OBIO®. “We are excited to support innovative work that has the potential to lead to an improved patient journey and are pleased to support both TAMVOES and Grand River Hospital.”

“While taking care of two family members battling cancer, I realized there were inefficiencies in the healthcare system as information is stored in silos and, there is strong discontinuity of care. We are very grateful for the EAHN’s support and the opportunity to work with Grand River Hospital to implement this technology in the clinical setting and make strides to enhance the patient experience.” – Jessica Lunshof, TAMVOES President and Co-Founder. Demonstrating the usefulness of the TAMVOES health management platform in managing patient health information and increasing the ease of communication between the patient and their healthcare team may lead to improved patient satisfaction.

“Connecting with the tech community is critical to Grand River Hospital becoming a world-class health system. This opportunity with TAMVOES is in line in both spirit and success – and aligns so well personally to Jessica’s family’s care journey” – said Paul McIntyre-Royston, CEO of Grand River Hospital Foundation.

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.

About TAMVOES

TAMVOES Health Inc., is a Canadian female-led health technology start-up based out of Waterloo, Ontario, that empowers users to manage their health information all in one easy-to-use platform. The TAMVOES Health management platform securely stores and shares important health documents, keeps loved ones informed and tracks important vitals.

About Grand River Hospital

Grand River Hospital is one of Ontario’s largest community hospitals with an outstanding team of 5,000 dedicated health care workers and volunteers.  We provide services and support to more than 840,000 residents at our two campuses and satellite locations in Waterloo Region and Guelph Wellington. We take pride in the ways we collaborate with our health system partners, our region’s academic and innovation communities, and diverse community stakeholders as we work toward providing a world class experience for patients, families and team members.

Our programs include cancer and renal (kidney) services; care for the most seriously ill and injured adults; services for mothers, newborns and children; emergency care; mental health and addictions; and care for older adults including rehabilitation.  Learn more about our programs here.

Contacts:

For more information about OBIO’s Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN™), or if you are interested in joining the Network, please contact:

Bibaswan Ghoshal
Director, Market Acceleration
bibaswanghoshal@obio.ca

For more information about TAMVOES Health Inc, please contact:

Jessica Lunshoff
Co-Founder and President,
jess@tamvoes.com

For more information about Grand River Hospital, please contact:

Carla Girolametto
Director of Innovation, Research
carla.girolametto@grhosp.on.ca

Oncoustics AI and UHN Awarded OBIO® Early Adopter Health Network Grant to Trial Point of Care Liver Assessment Solutions in Clinic

September 14, 2022 (TORONTO, ON) – Oncoustics (www.oncoustics.com), the world’s leader in Artificial Intelligence (AI) based analytics for processing raw ultrasound signal to do tissue characterization, real-time diagnostics and non-invasive surveillance, announced that, in association with University Health Network (UHN), they have been awarded an Early Access Health Network (EAHN™) Grant to trial the OnX Liver Assessment Solutions in UHN clinics. The grant, which is funded by the Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization (OBIO®), enables Oncoustics and UHN to pilot and further develop the innovative technology that Oncoustics has developed and is deploying.

Oncoustics is a unique and innovative player in the medical AI space today. Creating and deploying AI solutions for low-cost surveillance and diagnostics for disease detection, early intervention and treatment monitoring, Oncoustics uses artificial intelligence applied to raw ultrasound signals to automatically differentiate healthy versus diseased tissues. The first product, the OnX Liver Assessment Solution, while still in investigational use only, has demonstrated a 95% AUROC at detecting liver cirrhosis in a 5-minute point of care exam.

Working with Dr. Mamatha Bhat’s teams at the Liver Transplant Clinic at UHN’s Ajmera Transplant Centre and Dr. Jordan Feld’s teams at the Toronto Centre for Liver Disease, the Oncoustics team will collect data on the use and clinical values provided by its OnX Liver Assessment Solution. “The technology we developed and continue to build on is unique in that we mine the raw sound signal to do tissue characterization at point of care,” said Beth Rogozinski, CEO of Oncoustics. “The clinical value of this is far reaching: this can enable fast and efficient point of care assessment, diagnostics and surveillance, all of which can decrease costs, and advance early detection of disease states, thereby promoting personalized medicine. Patients have the additional value of being able to get all of their assessments done in one department and in a single visit.”

“I’m a proponent of non-invasive testing to detect liver disease and I’ve long been an advocate of applying machine learning to improve assessments in our clinic and in my research,” said Dr. Bhat. “Oncoustics combines both of these and their innovative tools promise to be invaluable resource that I can carry in the palm of my hand.”

OBIO® EAHN™ creates a collaborative ecosystem in Canada where health technology companies and health organizations can work together to develop, test, refine, adopt, and disseminate novel technologies across the health system. “The Oncoustics/UHN partnership represents the ideal of what we’re working to do at EAHN™,” said Bibaswan Ghoshal, Director of Market Acceleration for the Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization. “By supporting this partnership, we’re advancing Canadian health innovation and helping to accelerate it to market so patients and our health systems can benefit.”

The Oncoustics/UHN partnership will be supported for just under one year and reports and publications of the program and results will be made available to the public.

About Oncoustics:

Oncoustics (www.oncoustics.com) is creating and deploying advanced AI solutions for low cost, non-invasive surveillance, diagnostics, and treatment monitoring of diseases with high unmet clinical need. Unlike other players in the space, Oncoustics does not do image recognition alone. Instead, they apply AI to raw ultrasound signals from readily available handheld ultrasound devices to rapidly differentiate healthy versus diseased tissues. There’s a wealth of information in these raw signals and this approach reveals novel biomarkers and insights that can go beyond what can be seen by the human eye. Initially, targeting liver disease, the Oncoustics platform is expandable to any anatomical area of the body that ultrasound can image and the company has several follow-on liver products are in development and clinical data on other organ indications including prostate, kidney, breast and thyroid diseases and cancers.

The Oncoustics platform is hardware agnostic and enables a whole new level of access to care with the benefits of ease of use, affordability, and optimizing current clinical workflow.

The Oncoustics solutions for ultrasound, including liver and prostate applications, will be submitted for regulatory approval in the United States (FDA 510(k)), Canada (Health Canada medical device license) and the European Union (CE Mark). The OnX Liver Assessment Solution has not been cleared for clinical use and is For Investigational Use Only.

For further information, please contact:

Beth Rogozinski, CEO Oncoustics
brogozinski@oncoustics.com
www.oncoustics.com

Increasing the Adoption of Canadian Innovations and Focusing on Women’s Leadership/Accroître l’adoption des innovations canadiennes et mettre à l’honneur le leadershipdes femmes

­­ *The French version follows the English version / La version française suit la version anglaise*

 Strengthening the Health Science Industry by Increasing the Adoption of Canadian Innovations and Focusing on Women’s Leadership

TORONTO, July 11, 2022 – The Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization (OBIO®), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing health technology innovation and commercialization, is excited to announce the expansion of Canada’s Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN™) and the launch of its new Women in Health Initiative (WiHI) to train women to further ensure their participation and career success in the health science industry. Both initiatives are supported by the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) as part of a new $10-million investment in OBIO®.

“OBIO® is continuing to foster innovators of new and innovative Canadian technologies while supporting the full and equal participation of women in our economy by offering programs that set women up for a successful career,” said the Honourable Helena Jaczek, Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Agency for Southern Ontario. “Our Government is committed to supporting the health of Canadians and our healthcare innovators, and helping women entrepreneurs reach their full potential in this important industry.”

Today’s announcement, builds on an additional $10 million in FedDev Ontario support, provided to OBIO® since 2015, to assist high-potential health and life sciences companies to grow, scale up and attract global investment.

Maura Campbell, President and CEO of OBIO®, is thrilled with the continued growth of OBIO’s programs and other initiatives. “We are delighted to expand EAHN™ and provide Canadian health technology companies with an opportunity to partner with healthcare organizations. EAHN™ was developed to evaluate and facilitate the adoption of cutting-edge technologies that improve patients’ lives while providing solutions to healthcare system challenges. We are also very proud to highlight that through WiHI, OBIO’s latest initiative, we will work to ensure the career success of participating women in the health science industry by drawing on our in-house training expertise and extensive network of professionals, advisors and companies.”

Expansion of Canada’s Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN™)

EAHN™ brings together health technology companies and healthcare organizations in a collaborative health system to evaluate, refine, adopt and procure Canadian-made technology solutions. This new funding will be leveraged to grow and expand the network by creating opportunities for companies and healthcare organizations across the entire healthcare ecosystem, from tertiary care and community hospitals to primary care, long-term care organizations and homecare. 

Launched in early 2020, EAHN™ partners Canadian companies’ innovative, market-ready health technologies (from medical devices and diagnostics to therapeutics and software platforms, including artificial intelligence) with healthcare organizations and supports them from evaluation to adoption and procurement planning. Through EAHN™, OBIO® provides project management and financial support to evaluate technologies in a real-world setting and facilitate their broad adoption into the healthcare system.

“EAHN™ provides Canadian health science companies access to local markets allowing them to grow here in Canada, create jobs, attract capital and expand globally,” says Gail Garland, former President and CEO of OBIO®. “Since its launch in 2020, EAHN™ has become an aggregator of health science innovations that benefit patients, address healthcare system challenges, and contribute to economic growth. I am honoured to have led the creation, implementation and expansion of this ecosystem building program.”

“EAHN™ gave us the opportunity to evaluate our novel ultrasound technology in a real-world setting,” says Joe Eibl, CEO of Flosonics Medical, which partnered with Health Sciences North in Sudbury to conduct an accelerated study on the use of FloPatch. “Our successful participation in the program was a catalyzing event as we introduce FloPatch to the North American market.”

“We are committed to adopting state-of-the-art healthcare solutions, and our EAHN™ partnership has given us the opportunity to work with the most advanced innovations developed by the Canadian health science community,” says Dr. Alan Forster, Executive Vice-President and Chief Innovation and Quality Officer, The Ottawa Hospital. “It is vital for us to collaborate across the ecosystem and support this network to ensure we achieve our goal of excellent patient care.”

Launch of OBIO’s Women in Health Initiative (WiHI)

Women are under represented in the bioeconomy workforce, particularly in senior roles, and the sector needs support to foster inclusive economic growth. OBIO’s WiHI will help women enter the health science industry, move into senior management roles, and leverage their talent to become leaders.

“WiHI continues OBIO’s longstanding focus on women entering and advancing their careers in business development roles in the health science industry,” says Gail Garland, former President and CEO of OBIO®. “Building the talent pipeline by continually supporting and building a community around women’s professional development contributes to the growth and economic development of this industry.”

Driven by OBIO’s unique capacity to advance its mission through collaborative partnerships with industry, the investment community, academia and government, WiHI will expand Canada’s health science innovation ecosystem by supporting workforce development for women.

"The quality of programming devised and funded through OBIO® has played a vital role in the growth and development of not just our HealthTech company, but also our entire team,” says Pooja Viswanathan, CEO at Braze Mobility. “I am thrilled to learn about the new program specifically designed to support women leaders and scientists to equip them with the skills they need to succeed.”

About OBIO®
OBIO®, founded in 2009, is a not-for-profit, membership-based innovation organization 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. OBIO® advances this goal through collaborative partnerships with industry, the investment community, academia, the health system, and government. For more information, please visit www.obio.ca and follow OBIO® on Twitter at @OBIOscience.

About FedDev Ontario
For more than 12 years, the Government of Canada, through FedDev Ontario, has worked to advance and diversify the southern Ontario economy through funding opportunities and business services that support innovation, growth and job creation in Canada’s most populous region. The Agency has delivered impressive results, which can be seen in southern Ontario businesses that are creating innovative technologies, improving productivity, growing revenues, creating jobs, and in the economic advancement of communities across the region. Learn more about the impacts the Agency is having in southern Ontario by exploring our pivotal projects, our Southern Ontario Spotlight, and FedDev Ontario’s Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Monica Granados
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister responsible for the
Federal Economic Development Agency
for Southern Ontario
monica.granados@feddevontario.gc.ca

Media Contacts:
Doriane Rey
Manager, Marketing & Events
Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization
dorianerey@obio.ca

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Accroître l’adoption des innovations canadiennes et mettre à l’honneur le leadership des femmes pour renforcer le secteur des sciences de la santé  

TORONTO, le 11 juillet 2022 – investissement de 10 millions de dollars en faveur d’OBIO®.

« OBIO® continue de stimuler les technologies canadiennes nouvelles et novatrices tout en soutenant la pleine et égale participation des femmes en tant qu’acteurs économiques en leur offrant des programmes qui les préparent à une carrière réussie », a déclaré l’honorable Helena Jaczek, ministre responsable de FedDev Ontario. « Notre gouvernement est déterminé à soutenir la santé des Canadiens et les innovateurs en soins de santé, ainsi qu'à aider les femmes entrepreneurs à atteindre leur plein potentiel dans cette importante industrie. »

L'annonce d'aujourd'hui fait suite à un investissement supplémentaire de 10 millions de dollars de FedDev Ontario accordé à OBIO® depuis 2015 pour aider les entreprises à fort potentiel dans le domaine de la santé et des sciences de la vie à se développer, étendre leurs activités et attirer des capitaux à l'échelle mondiale.

Maura Campbell, présidente-directrice générale d’OBIO®, se réjouit de la croissance continue des programmes et autres initiatives d'OBIO® : « Nous sommes ravis d’élargir le réseau EAHNMC et d’offrir aux entreprises canadiennes spécialisées dans les technologies de la santé l’occasion de s’associer à des organismes de santé. Le réseau EAHNMC a été conçu pour évaluer et faciliter l’adoption de technologies de pointe qui améliorent la vie des patients et apportent des solutions aux défis du système de santé. Nous sommes également très fiers de souligner que grâce à l’Initiative de promotion des femmes dans le secteur de la santé, nous favoriserons la réussite professionnelle des participantes en mettant à profit notre expertise interne en matière de formation et notre vaste réseau de professionnels, de conseillers et d’entreprises. »

Expansion du réseau Early Adopter Health Network (EAHNMC)

Le réseau EAHNMC réunit des entreprises spécialisées dans les technologies de la santé et des organismes de santé au sein d’un système collaboratif dans le but de favoriser l’évaluation, l’amélioration, l’adoption et l’acquisition de solutions technologiques conçues au Canada. Ce nouveau financement sera mis à profit pour développer et élargir le réseau en ouvrant des débouchés pour les entreprises et les organismes de santé dans l’ensemble de l’écosystème des soins de santé, notamment pour les établissements de soins tertiaires, les hôpitaux communautaires, les organismes de soins primaires, les organismes de soins de longue durée et les soins à domicile.

Lancé au début de l’année 2020, le réseau EAHNMC rassemble des entreprises canadiennes proposant des technologies de la santé innovantes et commercialisables (en particulier des équipements médicaux, des outils de diagnostic, des dispositifs thérapeutiques et des plateformes logicielles, notamment fondées sur l’intelligence artificielle) et des organismes de santé, et leur fournit de l’aide en matière d’évaluation, d’adoption et de planification des achats. Dans le cadre du réseau EAHNMC, OBIO® apporte une aide à la gestion de projet et un soutien financier pour évaluer les technologies en situation réelle et faciliter leur adoption dans le système de santé.

« Le réseau EAHNMC permet aux entreprises canadiennes des sciences de la santé d’accéder à des marchés locaux afin de prendre de l’expansion ici, au Canada, de créer des emplois, d’attirer des capitaux et d’étendre leurs activités à l’échelle mondiale », a expliqué Gail Garland, ancienne présidente-directrice générale d’OBIO®. « Depuis son lancement en 2020, le réseau EAHN™ s’est imposé comme un acteur à même de rassembler des innovations en sciences de la santé qui profitent aux patients, répondent aux défis du système de santé et contribuent à la croissance économique. Je suis honorée d’avoir piloté la création, le déploiement et l’expansion de ce programme de développement de l’écosystème. »

« Le réseau EAHNMC nous a permis d’évaluer notre nouvelle technologie d’échographie en situation réelle », a expliqué Joe Eibl, directeur général de Flosonics Medical, qui s’est associé à Horizon Santé-Nord à Sudbury pour mener une étude accélérée sur l’utilisation du capteur FloPatch. « Notre participation réussie au programme a été un levier décisif dans le cadre du lancement de FloPatch sur le marché nord-américain. »

« Nous nous sommes engagés à adopter des solutions en santé de pointe, et notre partenariat avec le réseau EAHNMC nous donne la possibilité de mettre à profit les innovations les plus pointues conçues par la communauté canadienne des sciences de la santé », a déclaré le Dr Alan Forster, vice-président exécutif et chef de l’innovation et de la qualité à l’Hôpital d’Ottawa. « Il est essentiel que nous collaborions avec l’ensemble de l’écosystème et que nous appuyions ce réseau afin d’atteindre notre objectif d’excellence des soins aux patients. »

Lancement de l’Initiative de promotion des femmes dans le secteur de la santé

Les femmes sont sous-représentées dans la main-d’œuvre de la bioéconomie, notamment aux postes de direction, et le secteur a besoin d’être soutenu pour générer une croissance économique inclusive. L’Initiative de promotion des femmes dans le secteur de la santé aidera les femmes à se lancer dans ce secteur, à accéder à des postes de direction et à valoriser leur talent pour devenir de véritables chefs de file.

« L’Initiative de promotion des femmes s’inscrit dans la droite lignée de l’action menée de longue date par OBIO® pour inciter les femmes à se lancer et évoluer dans le secteur de la santé à des postes à responsabilité », a expliqué Gail Garland, ancienne présidente-directrice générale d’OBIO®. « Le fait de développer le vivier de talents en appuyant et en consolidant en permanence une communauté par le perfectionnement professionnel des femmes contribue à la croissance et au développement économique de ce secteur. »

Portée par la capacité singulière d’OBIO® d’œuvrer à sa mission en collaborant avec des acteurs de l’industrie, des investisseurs, des établissements du monde universitaire et les pouvoirs publics, l’Initiative de promotion des femmes dans le secteur de la santé permettra d’élargir l’écosystème canadien de l’innovation en sciences de la santé en contribuant au perfectionnement professionnel des femmes.

« La qualité des programmes conçus et financés par OBIO® joue un rôle essentiel dans la croissance et le développement non seulement de notre société de technologies de la santé, mais aussi de toute notre équipe », s’est réjouie Pooja Viswanathan, directrice générale de Braze Mobility. « Je suis ravie de ce nouveau programme, spécialement conçu pour aider les femmes d’influence et scientifiques à acquérir les compétences dont elles ont besoin pour réussir. »

À propos d’OBIO®
Fondé en 2009, OBIO® est un organisme sans but lucratif de type associatif, qui se consacre à l’élaboration de stratégies, de programmes et de politiques et à la promotion de l’innovation afin de favoriser la commercialisation des technologies de la santé qui feront du Canada un chef de file sur la scène internationale. Pour obtenir de plus amples renseignements sur OBIO®, veuillez consulter le site www.obio.ca et suivre le compte @OBIOscience sur Twitter.

À propos de FedDev Ontario
Depuis plus de 12 ans, le gouvernement du Canada, par l’intermédiaire de FedDev Ontario, s’emploie à développer et à diversifier l’économie du Sud de l’Ontario au moyen de possibilités de financement et de services aux entreprises qui appuient l’innovation et la croissance dans la région la plus peuplée du Canada. L’Agence a obtenu des résultats impressionnants, comme en témoignent les entreprises du Sud de l’Ontario qui créent des technologies innovantes, améliorent leur productivité et font progresser leur chiffre d’affaires, ainsi que le développement économique des collectivités de toute la région. Apprenez-en davantage sur l’impact de l’Agence dans le Sud de l’Ontario en consultant ses projets majeurs, L’actualité économique du Sud de l’Ontario, et en suivant les comptes de médias sociaux de FedDev Ontario : Twitter, Facebook, Instagram et LinkedIn.

Monica Granados
Attachée de presse
Bureau du ministre responsable de
l’Agence fédérale de développement économique pour le Sud de l’Ontario
monica.granados@feddevontario.gc.ca

Personnes-ressources pour les médias :
Doriane Rey
Chef du marketing et des événements
Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization
dorianerey@obio.ca

OBIO’s Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN™) and the City of Kawartha Lakes Family Health Team Launch a Project with AI Platform Goji Voice to Improve Patient Experience

TORONTO, ON – June 9, 2022 – The Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization (OBIO®) and the City of Kawartha Lakes Family Health Team (CKL FHT) are launching a project in Ontario through OBIO’s Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN™) to improve the patient and provider experience, and enhance health outcomes via Goji Technology Systems’ innovative artificial intelligence (AI) virtual assistant platform, Goji Voice.

With Goji Voice, clinicians can easily and seamlessly record their interactions with patients using their computers or mobile devices. This allows them to easily capture the entire conversation rather than taking notes or communicating through a computer screen, which can negatively affect the patient-clinician interaction. Goji Voice then converts the recorded conversation into text and makes it available to the clinician, who can quickly review the notes, highlight key points and add new information.

Once the clinical notes have been captured in the system, Goji Voice allows clinicians to save them directly into their medical systems through a simple integration offered by Gojitech. Goji Voice also captures clinical insights, reminders and actions such as follow-ups, tests, orders and more. This way, the clinician no longer needs to manually track notes or actions. Goji Voice is built with robust privacy and security safeguards required for adherence to jurisdictionally applicable legislation/regulations (e.g., PHIPA in Ontario, HIPAA in the US and GDPR in Europe), and stores and maintains data residency in local jurisdictions to provide the utmost data protection.

Gojitech and CKL FHT are excited about the progressive deployment and evaluation of Goji Voice at several clinical locations. Aligned with the quadruple aim of healthcare, the OBIO-funded project will assess Goji Voice’s impact in restoring face-to-face interaction between clinicians and patients, the quality of its clinical documentation automation, the value of recorded and transcribed encounters for clinicians, and the utility of codified data for analytics.

This announcement continues to reflect OBIO’s commitment and momentum to “bringing Canadian innovation to Ontario’s health system and the world,” by expanding the EAHN™ program to include primary care organizations such as Ontario’s Family Health Teams.

“Primary health care is a vital part of Ontario’s healthcare system, as we help to reduce hospital admissions and reduce health complications through prevention, access, early intervention and education. Our adoption of digital technologies has had a positive impact, but at times it has also led to an increased time spent on administration and non-direct clinical care. We hope that innovative solutions like Gojitech’s will contribute to overcoming clinician burnout due to digitization, improve the quality of time spent on clinical care, enhance the accuracy and breadth of data for analytics that lead to better planning and decision making, and ultimately, provide better and more efficient access to patient care,” says Aasif Khakoo, Executive Director, City of Kawartha Lakes Family Health Team.

“We are thrilled to be selected by OBIO® and the City of Kawartha Lakes Family Health Team to showcase our technology and its value to clinicians at CKL FHT. We are confident that Goji Voice will improve patient care by enabling CKL FHT clinicians to focus more on their patients and less on their computer screens. We are impressed with and thankful to OBIO® and the CKL FHT for their passion to transform healthcare through adopting Canadian innovation. Without the vision of organizations like CKL FHT and OBIO®, innovation adoption in Ontario can be challenging and sometimes feels out of reach,” says Roe Sivanandan, President and CEO of Gojitech.

“We are very pleased to support the partnership between the City of Kawartha Lakes Family Health Team and Gojitech, which represents the first EAHN™ project in a family health team,” says Maura Campbell, President and CEO of OBIO®. “Our vision for EAHN™ is to collaborate across the ecosystem and grow a network that will ensure excellent patient care, which means expanding beyond the hospital setting.”

OBIO® Expands Programming to Prepare Talent for Entering the Health Science Industry

New wage subsidies available to eligible employers

TORONTO, ON – April 28, 2022 – The Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization (OBIO®), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing health technology innovation and commercialization, is excited to announce the expansion of its Health to Business Bridge™ Program (H2BB™) with support from the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development as part of a new $1.9 million investment in OBIO®.

Since 2017, OBIO® has successfully orchestrated and delivered the H2BB™ program to prepare professionals to transition into the health science industry by equipping them with the skills, knowledge and resources they need to get up to speed quickly and build a solid foundation in the field. This new funding will enable OBIO® to help companies attract and retain talent with a background in health science and those transitioning into the industry. OBIO® will also support health science companies to facilitate new hiring and ensure a smooth transition for personnel entering the sector by providing a wage subsidy grant to each company.

“We need to be prepared to meet and capitalize on the increased demand for industry-ready talent in Ontario as we recover from the pandemic,” says Maura Campbell, CEO and President at OBIO®. “This new funding will allow us to bring the successful model of H2BB™ training programs and bootcamps to a wider pool of talent and employers.”

Through H2BB™, OBIO® has provided industry-specific training to the rapidly growing health science and technology industry to more than 300 individuals.

“OBIO’s H2BB™ will deliver training to new entrants into the workforce, empowering them with the skills they need to transition smoothly into key roles in scaling companies like ours,” says Frank Florio. Vice President, Strategy & Business Development at Myant. “As the health science industry in Ontario continues to mature, we remain challenged to find the right talent and will rely on this important program.”

“Like many industries, employers in Ontario’s health sciences sector continue to face a shortage of skilled workers needed to grow their businesses,” said Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development. “The Health to Business Bridge Program will connect talented workers with the training needed to join growing companies and earn bigger paycheques for themselves and their families.”  

“It is vital that scaling life sciences companies attract, train and retain the talent they need,” said Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. “OBIO’s program complements what we are looking to accomplish with Ontario’s Life Sciences Strategy.”

To learn more about H2BB™ and the OBIO® Job Board and Talent Network, visit www.obio.ca/obioh2bb. 

OBIO® Secures Funding to Support Health Science Innovators to Build Their Business Capacity in Ontario

TORONTO, ON – April 26, 2022 – Today, the Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization (OBIO®) is pleased to announce it has secured another round of funding for its Business Development Skills Program (BDSP™), with a $5.45 million investment from the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development and the Skills Development Fund. The program was first launched in May 2021 to provide funding to health science companies to support the intellectual property commercialization of Ontario innovations. With this new funding, OBIO® will continue to address the need for innovative training solutions to help companies gain the critical skills they need to build a global business based in Ontario.

“The BDSP™ is unique in that it focuses on enhancing the strategic business development capabilities of management teams in health science companies,” says Maura Campbell, CEO and President at OBIO®. “By providing mentorship and training for key team members, including senior management and C-suite, Ontario companies will be better positioned to attract significant investment, create highly-skilled jobs and grow a business-savvy health science labour force.”

In its first year, the BDSP™ enabled 84 Ontario-based companies to transform their teams through intensive mentorship and training to develop the skills necessary to take their business to the next level.

“OBIO’s BDSP™ has given Cyclica the opportunity to invest in our team’s growth and take our business development skills to the next level. The funding we received has allowed us to acquire and translate knowledge that we believe will have demonstrable impact on the company by transforming our thinking,” says Naheed Kurji, President & CEO at Cyclica. “Learning is a lifelong journey, and I cannot overstate the benefits to our business by being able to provide continuous opportunities to my team.”

Through the BDSP™, OBIO® helped more than 350 employees to receive training specific to the rapidly growing health science and technology industry. Participating companies hired more than 300 new team members and collectively raised over CAD $100M in investment funding. OBIO® is now accepting applications for its next cohort.

"Ontario is a global health sciences leader and we need to ensure innovators have the tools they need to take their businesses to the next level,” says Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development. “This OBIO® program will ensure Ontario remains at the cutting edge of health sciences technology for years to come.”

“Life sciences innovation is often driven by entrepreneurs that can benefit from a deeper understanding of how to scale and grow their businesses. It is critical that they have access to the best business development advice,” says Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. “OBIO’s Business Development Skills Program will give Ontario-based life sciences entrepreneurs practical skills development and advice that will help them succeed.”

OBIO® is now accepting BDSP™ applications for 2022-2023.
To learn more and apply, visit www.obio.ca/bdsp.