INOVAIT Fuels Medical Innovation with $730,000 Pilot Fund Awards
TORONTO, Sept. 23, 2024 – INOVAIT, the pan-Canadian innovation network dedicated to fostering advancements and commercialization in image-guided therapy (IGT) and artificial intelligence (AI), is thrilled to announce the latest recipients of its Pilot Fund. This competitive funding program supports groundbreaking medical technology projects that leverage the transformative power of AI, machine learning, and big data analytics within IGT to drive medical innovation and streamline care.
INOVAIT has committed nearly $730,000 to empower six new projects, each representing a collaborative effort between small- and medium-sized enterprises, hospital research centres, and academic institutions. These collaborations are poised to create jobs and launch healthcare innovations across Canada. The combined value of these six projects surpasses $2.2 million, reflecting the significant contributions from participating companies, organizations, and partners.
INOVAIT is proud to provide this non-dilutive financial support to Canada’s most innovative technologies in IGT. Funding was awarded coast to coast to projects showcasing the highest commercialization potential and economic impact, including projects in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland.
Kullervo Hynynen, co-executive director of INOVAIT, expressed pride in the program’s impact, stating, “INOVAIT’s financial support promotes the practical application of research and development efforts, accelerates the market readiness of innovations, generates high-impact jobs for Canadians, and fuels the sector overall.” He added, “To date, INOVAIT has selected 88 IGT-AI projects for funding, leading to an expected infusion of $128 million into the burgeoning Canadian image-guided therapy sector.”
Sound Blade Medical: Revolutionizing Endoscopic Healthcare with AI-powered Histotripsy
Sound Blade Medical leads one of the six announced INOVAIT Pilot Fund projects. In collaboration with Dalhousie University, they are pioneering a revolution in endoscopic healthcare through cutting-edge image-guided histotripsy and machine learning algorithms. Their INOVAIT Pilot Fund project is focused on advancing treatment and care for individuals suffering from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
Current surgical options for treating OSA are performed blindly, often resulting in complications such as bleeding, infection, speech impairment, and tongue paralysis. Sound Blade’s project aims to further develop non-invasive, image-guided ultrasound ablation (histotripsy) technology as an alternative to tongue-base reduction surgery for OSA. Leveraging the power of AI, Sound Blade’s intra-oral image-guided ablation prototype will precisely and non-invasively liquify fatty tongue tissue, safeguarding vital neighboring tissue and minimizing the complications associated with standard surgical OSA treatment.
“We are incredibly grateful to INOVAIT and the Government of Canada for their generous support,” remarked Jeremy Brown, CEO and founder of Sound Blade. “The INOVAIT Pilot Fund will accelerate our ability to bring innovative healthcare solutions to the market and improve patient lives.”
Government Support Fuels Innovation
INOVAIT’s ability to support projects like Sound Blade’s is made possible through the support of the Government of Canada’s Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF). “Our government understands the amazing potential of image-guided therapy and AI to revolutionize how Canadians receive medical care,” stated The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. “That is why we are excited to partner with INOVAIT to help support stakeholders working across this exciting new technological landscape and ensure that Canada remains at the forefront of cutting-edge medical innovations.”
For a comprehensive list of companies funded to date through INOVAIT, visit www.inovait.ca/funding. For any inquiries regarding INOVAIT or its programming, please contact inovait@sunnybrook.ca.
About INOVAIT
Established in 2020, INOVAIT strategically invests in collaborative partnerships that leverage Canada’s strengths in digital innovation and health science research to establish a critical mass of world-leading image-guided therapy (IGT) companies focused on artificial intelligence, machine learning, and big data analytics. Led by the Sunnybrook Research Institute and backed by the Government of Canada’s Strategic Innovation Fund, the network brings together small, medium-sized, and large companies, research organizations, post-secondary institutions, and not-for-profit organizations to collaborate, connect, and work together.
The network’s mission is to build a truly integrated IGT-AI ecosystem by fueling continuous innovation, commercialization, and collaboration that revolutionizes healthcare globally.
About Sunnybrook Research Institute
Sunnybrook Research Institute (SRI) serves as the research arm of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, an internationally recognized academic health sciences centre fully affiliated with the University of Toronto. With well-established programs in basic and applied sciences spanning across three scientific platforms and ten clinical programs, SRI is developing innovations in care for the more than 1.3 million patient visits the hospital sees annually. Recognized as a Centre of Excellence in focused ultrasound, SRI boasts one of the most comprehensive and successful focused ultrasound research programs globally, with technical, scientific, and clinical experts accelerating progress in the field.
