Government of Canada announces the recipients of support from INOVAIT's Focus Fund
Funding to support new innovative medical solutions that will better equip Canada's medical system and bring important benefits to Canadians
TORONTO, Jan. 18, 2023 /CNW/ - The pandemic has shown how important it is to ensure health care professionals have access to the proper tools and solutions to face all kinds of medical challenges and emergencies. That is why the Government of Canada continues to invest in the health care industry to ensure Canada remains a world leader in medical innovations.
Today, Adam van Koeverden, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and to the Minister of Sport, on behalf of the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, announced the 14 recipients of support from INOVAIT's Focus Fund. They will receive over $22 million to develop projects focusing on the commercialization of transformative image-guided therapy (IGT) medical technologies that will help deliver better health care for Canadians across the country.
These projects will provide our health care system with innovative solutions to an increasing range of medical challenges, including caring for the aging population and improving patient outcomes for complex medical procedures. IGT has revolutionized the health care industry and is now assisting health care professionals in making proper decisions regarding the treatment and future care of their patients. Combined with the help of artificial intelligence (AI), IGT will continue to greatly benefit patients.
This funding will allow the recipients to create new tools that will, for example, help improve stroke treatments, cardiovascular procedures and cancer therapy. With initiatives such as the Focus Fund, INOVAIT will attract up to $100 million in private investment, create over 300 highly skilled jobs for Canadians and launch up to 10 start-up companies.
Quotes
"For decades, Canadian innovators have been changing the face of health care at home and around the world in ways that have benefited millions. By investing and working with industry, we will continue to see more global leaders and better health care for Canadians. Thanks to the INOVAIT Focus Fund, we are seeing more jobs, growth and game-changing solutions that will benefit Canada."
– The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry
"Health care professionals need the best tools available to give Canadians the best treatments possible. Image-guided therapy has led to great progress in the medical field over the recent years. Today's recipients of Focus Fund support will help position Canada and its industries as world leaders in this sector. I would like to congratulate all 14 recipients that have been selected by INOVAIT to be part of the Focus Fund projects, and I am looking forward to seeing how your projects will use AI and IGT to better support our health care professionals and improve patient outcomes."
– Adam van Koeverden, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and to the Minister of Sport
"At Sunnybrook, we've seen how strong collaboration and partnership can advance image-guided therapy technologies from discovery to the medical marketplace. The Focus Fund support will extend that momentum across the country, advancing new medical solutions, encouraging further investment in image-guided therapeutics and elevating Canada's use of artificial intelligence in image-guided therapy sectors." "
– Dr. Kullervo Hynynen, INOVAIT Co-executive Director and Vice President of Research and Innovation at Sunnybrook Research Institute
Quick facts
- Funded through the Strategic Innovation Fund, INOVAIT is a pan-Canadian network led by the Sunnybrook Research Institute, which is a research and teaching hospital fully affiliated with the University of Toronto.
- INOVAIT will direct project funding to support collaborative research and development initiatives, focused on medical imaging and AI, with the goal of creating and commercializing innovative treatments in the health care sector.
- Supporting innovative medical research through INOVAIT is helping to leverage Canada's strengths in AI, machine learning and IGT.
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SOURCE Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
Laurie Bouchard, Senior Manager, Communications, Office of the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, [email protected]; Media Relations, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, [email protected]
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