As most of the U.S. population prepares for the rapidly-approaching Thanksgiving holiday, I will be visiting our neighbor to the north, feasting my eyes on all that Ontario has to offer in the way of advanced medical devices. Medical Device Daily has been invited by the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Innovation (MEDI) to participate in a medical device media tour of the Canadian province.

Throughout my visit, I plan to post frequent blogs here about my experience on the tour and what I learn about Ontario’s medical device industry. I also plan to tweet about the tour so be sure to follow us on Twitter at MedDevicesDaily to find out how the tour is going.

The tour is scheduled to begin with a stop at the Ontario Investment and Trade Centre in Toronto for an overview of Ontario’s advanced medical devices industry presented by John Soloninka, president/CEO of the Health Technology Exchange (HTX). HTX supports emerging and established Ontario-based companies to develop, produce and commercialize innovative advanced health technologies. That stop also includes a presentation from Tom Corr, president/CEO of the Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE). OCE aims to foster training and development of the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs through its partnerships with industry, universities, research hospitals, investors and governments.

The tour also is expected to include stops at the GE Global Digital Pathology Centre of Excellence, The Hospital for Sick Children Centre for Image-Guided Innovation & Therapeutic Intervention, Hologic, Tornado Medical Systems, and Baylis Medical Company, all in Toronto. A visit to Thunder Bay will include stops at the Thunder Bay Regional Research Institute, RegenMed, and Warnex Pro-DNA Services.