TORONTO – Numalogics Inc. has entered a partnership deal with Sawbones Inc. to develop computational modeling and simulation software for small and medium sized orthopedic manufacturers. Adding Montreal-based Numalogics’ computational simulation software to Seattle-based Sawbones’ biomechanical test line is intended to help customers optimize their orthopedic device designs more quickly and efficiently. The software is expected to be market ready in 2022.
TORONTO – Health Gauge Inc. (HG) and AI-on-Call Inc. will soon deploy a digital remote patient monitoring solution for early prediction of sepsis at three seniors' facilities located in British Columbia. HG’s smartwatch and AI-driven cloud platform capture an array of vital signs data, including blood pressure, heart and respiratory rates, and will be supported by AI-on-Call software that alerts medical staff to early signs of sepsis and acute illness.
TORONTO – Zilia Inc. has raised C$4 million (US$3.16 million) in seed financing to push new ocular diagnostic technology to regulatory finish lines in the U.S., Canada and eventually Europe. Zilia co-founder and CEO Patrick Sauvageau said the Zilia Ocular is alone in measuring oxygen saturation in the eye, an important biomarker for eye diseases such as glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration.
Newly launched startup Somne Inc. plans to give CPAP machines a run for their money by replacing CPAP masks and hoses for treating obstructive sleep apnea with a gentler collar encircling the patient’s neck. The new device uses variable negative pressure to ensure users get a good night’s sleep instead of positive airway pressure employed by companies such as Resmed Inc. and Philips Respironics Inc.
TORONTO – Neupath Health Inc. and Cynergi Health Partners have signed a memorandum of understanding that could see Cynergi’s virtual reality (VR) software combined with Neupath’s remote pain management platform. The platform is expected to benefit from the therapeutic potential of Austin, Texas-based Cynergi’s Rilaxta VRx to lower patient anxiety and perception of pain as they walk through restful, VR-created landscapes. “We don’t see another group taking a similar, holistic approach to pain management that we are,” Neupath CEO Grant Connelly told BioWorld.
Aatru Medical LLC has received FDA 510(k) class II clearance for a platform that turns its back on electro-mechanical components in other negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) systems. Deployed for closed surgical incision applications, the Negative Pressure Surgical Incision Management System (NPSIMS) is a single-use, disposable platform that could help reduce the 20% of hospital infections attributed to surgical site infections (SSI).
Helius Medical Technologies Inc. has received an FDA breakthrough device designation for its Portable Neuromodulation Stimulator (Pons) device for temporary treatment of dynamic gait and balance deficits due to stroke.
TORONTO – Fluid Biotech Inc. has raised $4.7 million in oversubscribed seed funding to further develop and commercialize the world's first hybrid polymer-metal flow-diverting brain stent for curing brain aneurysms that can lead to stroke. Following successful preclinical studies of the stent, attention now turns to applying this fresh capital to hiring contract manufacturers to prepare for first-in-human implantation and production of the mostly polymer-constructed stent.
Scientists at Cleveland-based Case Western Reserve University have used artificial intelligence (AI) to identify biomarkers contained in naturally occurring collagen that could predict whether breast cancer will return after treatment. Identified from standard tissue biopsy slides of early-stage breast cancer, collagen-based assays could also be less expensive than gene expression-based assays typically conducted at highly specialized labs in California.
