Health Innovation Roundup

The Health Innovation Roundup, sponsored by Health Cities, is written and published weekly by Taproot Edmonton to bring you the latest news and events in research, technology, companies and people changing health for the better in Edmonton.

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Here are some highlights from this week’s Health Innovation Roundup:

Headlines

• Level 42 AI, a med-tech company based in Silicon Valley, is setting up its digital health subsidiary called Vibrome in the Edmonton region. The company will “transition Level 42 AI breakthrough technologies into fit-for-purpose solutions for health promotion” in both long-term care for seniors and veterinary care for animals, Edmonton Global said in a release.
• Obesity Canada, which is based at the University of Alberta, has joined with the Canadian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism and the European Association for the Study of Obesity to launch an online obesity-care course for physicians. The program, called Calibre (for Canadian Advanced Learning in Bariatric Care), has been developed over the past year with the help of Canadians who live with obesity.
• Health innovation companies 48Hour Discovery, Umay, Bio-Stream, GLC Medical, BackSCNR, and Naiad Lab are among the 21 Edmonton companies pitching at Startup TNT‘s pitch night heading into its Investment Summit VI.
• Episode 30 of Bloom, Taproot’s podcast about innovation in Edmonton, features an interview with Umay‘s Ali Habib and Sharmin Habib after their successful pitch on Dragons’ Den.
• Health Cities and the Brenda Strafford Foundation are launching the HealthTech Home project, an initiative to see if technology can help seniors safely live in their own homes instead of needing long-term care. The project will install technology to monitor the health of independent older adults living in a Brenda Strafford Foundation condo in Calgary for a year to detect needs and slow any declines.
• Reg Joseph, CEO of Health Cities, will again serve as chair of BioTalent Canada’s board. The organization provides labour market intelligence in the life sciences.
• Sports broadcaster Dave Jamieson sang the praises of the Alberta Cancer Exercise program, calling it “life-saving and life-affirming” as he recovers from treatment for a tumour in his neck. “We’re using exercise strategically to address the symptoms and side effects of the cancer treatments so that individuals can either withstand the treatment better and/or recover from the cancer treatments,” said researcher Margaret McNeely, a professor in the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Alberta.
• A spirit of collaboration has helped the Edmonton International Airport (YEG) earn a global reputation as a leader in pharmaceutical logistics and innovative delivery, said Trevor Caswell, manager of demand and product development for cargo, after returning from Pharma.Aero‘s Pharma Logistics Masterclass in Abu Dhabi.
• The lessons of the Integrated Operations Centre launched as a pilot project in Edmonton are now being applied to a similar centre in Calgary, ensuring more efficient emergency care, says Alberta Health Services. “The idea of the Integrated Operations Centre is to provide kind of a mission control,” said Dr. Kirstie McLelland, acting medical director for the Edmonton zone. “Our goal is to get the patient to the right care as fast as we possibly can.”
• Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation raised $650,000 in support of advancing health care at the Lois Hole Hospital for Women at its annual Harvest Celebration. The women’s research centre at the hospital has been renamed the Dale Sheard Centre for Solutions in Women’s Health in honour of the contributions of a long-standing philanthropist.
• A Forbes article on the promise of cryobiology noted the work of Jason Acker at the University of Alberta as he leads a group working to understand the biological response of cells to freezing and freeze-drying.
• The Alberta Pharmacists’ Association celebrated World Pharmacists Day by hailing the Alberta Model for pharmacist practice, which has been allowing for pharmacist-led services for the past 10 years and was crucial during the pandemic.

Events

• Sept. 28: forward/slash Economic Summit at the Edmonton Convention Centre
• Oct. 6, 6pm: Startup TNT Investment Summit VI – Top 20 Pitch Night
• Oct. 13-14: Glycomics Institute of Alberta Inaugural Symposium
• Oct. 17-22: Edmonton Startup Week
• Oct. 20, 4pm: Health Innovators’ Meetup – Funding your Venture: Options, Strategies, and Caveats at Enterprise Square
• Oct. 26, 9am: Alberta Innovates Medical Cannabis and Psychedelics Research Symposium

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