Each week Taproot brings together the latest on the research, technology, companies and people changing health and healthcare for the better in Edmonton. If you have a suggestion for a future edition of the roundup, send it to hello@taprootedmonton.ca for consideration. Here are some highlights from this week’s Health Innovation Roundup: News Reg Joseph looked back on his first year as CEO of Health City in a community update. Edmonton-based augmented reality company Aris MD won the Nasa iTech Ignite the Night Austin competition at South By Southwest. The company’s 3D medical scan earned them the honour. UCP Leader Jason Kenney announced, if elected, his government would scrap the NDP government’s planned $590 million superlab. Site preparations are currently underway for the Alberta Health Services Lab, which would be housed on the University of Alberta south campus. Canadian Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Navdeep Bains tried out the Edmonton-based Umay Care thermal meditation device while on his Nation of Innovators tour. University of Alberta students are designing an upper-body skeleton to help labourers reduce the risk of injury. Researchers out of the University of Alberta Faculty of Rehabilitative Medicine’s department of physical therapy created augmented reality goggles that show superimposed images of the spine. Health City has joined the European Connected Health Alliance, a community of digital health innovators. Canada Research Chair in health and law policy Tim Caulfield told CBC’s The Current that “vaccine-hesitant” Canadians are vulnerable to misinformation spread through social media, something Facebook has recently pledged to curb on its platform. Events The Synthusiasts biology student group and the Faculty of Science at the University of Alberta will host the inaugural synthetic biology solutions challenge on March 16 at the Centennial Centre for Interdisciplinary Science. The University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry will host the Neurology Update Conference at the Edmonton Convention Centre on March 16 from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The 2019 Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health Symposium will be held in Edmonton from April 14 to 16. SingularityU Canada’s 2019 Summit will be held in Edmonton on April 23 and 24. This year’s event will focus on challenges concerning Health, Energy, Prosperity, and Citizenship. The Canadian Cytometry and Microscopy Association will host its next conference at the University of Alberta on June 17 and 18. You’ll have to travel for: The T4M Start-up World trade show for medical technology innovators will be held in Stuttgart, Germany on May 7 to 9. Abstract submissions for eHealth 2019 have closed, but there is room at the conference for delegates. The conference runs from May 26 to 29 at the Beanfield Centre in Toronto, ON. Inventure$ 2019, an “un-conference” for entrepreneurs and startups to connect with investors, will be held in Calgary from June 7 to 9. The deadline to apply to pitch is March 15. The Health Innovation Roundup, sponsored by Health City, is a weekly email newsletter written and published by Taproot Edmonton. Sign up to get the full edition delivered directly to your inbox. If you sign up for a Taproot membership using the code HEALTHCITY, you’ll get 10% off the first year.