20 semi-finalists selected for the Deep Space Healthcare Challenge

The Canadian Space Agency and Impact Canada have selected 20 organizations across Canada for the Deep Space Healthcare Challenge.

In looking at providing healthcare in deep space, the Canadian Space Agency and Impact Canada are challenging organizations to innovate so that solutions also meet the needs of people living in remote communities.

According to the Canadian Space Agency “the teams selected by the Deep Space Healthcare Challenge jury will receive $30,000 in prize money and advance to Stage 2. In the second stage, semi-finalists will build a proof-of-concept that can generate data in a lab environment.”

The semi-finalists are:

• Tidal Medical (Toronto, Ontario) – Remote Detection of Respiratory and Cardiac Pathology using a Non-Invasive Diagnostic Wearable.
• Pelican MRI (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) – Ultralight MRI for Remote and Isolated Communities.
• Université de Montréal (Montreal, Quebec) – SPRINT – Surface plasmon resonance intelligent nanosensor technology.
• University of New Brunswick (Fredericton, New Brunswick) – An electrochemical sensor for rapid cancer biomarker detection
• Applications MD (Saint Lambert, Quebec) – EZResus, a mobile application for resuscitation that supports people in the field.
• PLAKK (Montreal, Quebec) – Saving Lives One Scan at a Time: An Artificial Intelligence-Powered Ultrasound Guidance and Analysis Tool to Predict Stroke Risk.
• Pulsence (North Vancouver, British Columbia) – Pulsence
• Sonoscope Inc. (Longueuil, Quebec) – Hands-free automated ultrasound diagnosis module.
• IndigenousTech.ai (Ottawa, Ontario) – AI-powered Solution for Dermatology for Primary Care Practices in Remote Communities.
• LightX Innovations Inc. (Boisbriand, Quebec) – LightX Innovations – Vision diagnostics.
• Swift Medical (Toronto, Ontario) – Pocketable, Skin and Wound Diagnostic and Monitoring Solution.
• Optican Systems Inc. (West Vancouver, British Columbia) – The OptiScan Near Infrared Probe for real-time Health Monitoring.
• ADGA Group Consultants Inc. (Ottawa, Ontario) – AI-Powered Virtual Medical Assistant.
• Alentic (Halifax, Nova Scotia) – Lensless Microscopy Diagnostic Platform.
• Neursantys Inc. (Calgary, Alberta) – NEURVESTA: Remote management of neurovestibular and sensorimotor disruptions.
• Texavie (Vancouver, British Columbia) – Autonomous, Comfortable, Health-Sensing and Therapy MarsWear Apparel For Deep Space and Remote Terrestrial Applications.
• McMaster University (Hamilton, Ontario) – Heart-Tracker: A wearable platform for real-time monitoring of cardiac markers in interstitial fluid.
• Wosler Corp. (London, Ontario) – Autonomous Diagnostic Ultrasound Services in Deep Space and Remote Communities.
• Luxsonic (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) – SieVRt Cardiac.
• Centre for Surgical Invention and Innovation (CSii) (Hamilton, Ontario) – Development of an Autonomous and Tele-operable Medical Robot for Ultra Rapid Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment of Early Cancers and Other Needlescopic Interventions.

The breakdown of organizations selected by province are: 7 Ontario, 5 Quebec, 3 British Columbia, 2 Saskatchewan, 1 New Brunswick, 1 Nova Scotia, and 1 Alberta.

Watch David Saint-Jacques talk about the remote healthcare on Earth and in space.