CMA’s Joule invests $150,000 in physician-led innovation

VANCOUVER – In a very short period of time, Joule has gone from start-up to game-changer in Canadian health innovation. Five grants were announced to fund innovative opportunities led by Canadian physicians.

The grants are part of Joule’s mandate to promote and fuel physician-led innovations that drive change in health and healthcare. The ventures include a patient-centric application to reduce language barriers between physicians and patients, 3D printable medical solutions, a portable medical imaging tool, simulators and a web-based clinical aid.

The grant recipients are:

• Dr. Doug Kavanagh, a $50,000 grant to support development of the Ocean Tablet – a patient centric application that reduces the language barriers between physicians and their patients, saving time and lives by automatically translating concise clinical notes into the electronic medical record.
• Four $25,000 grants have also been awarded to the following physicians:
• Dr. Julie Lynn Wong who will use the funds to develop 3D4MD, which delivers physicians and patients low cost, on-demand 3D printable medical solutions.
• Dr. Jacob Jaremko who will use the funds to develop CUDL 3D Ultrasound, a portable medical imaging and point-of-care decision support tool with the potential to become the 21st century stethoscope.
• Dr. Dale Podolsky who will use the funds to develop Simulare Medical Corp, a start-up company dedicated to enhancing surgical skills via the development of simulators – starting with a physical cleft palate simulator – towards significantly superior patient safety and outcomes.
• Dr. Kamran Khan who will use the funds towards Blue Dot and the clinical aid PanMEDIC, a web-based clinical aid for physicians who lack the training or experience to confidently recognize important global infectious diseases.

Recognizing the difficulties that innovators face in bringing new ideas to fruition, the the CMA created Joule to encourage Canadian doctors to develop and commercialize helpful technologies. It has been designed to “ease their journey where possible and to encourage innovation,” said Joule’s CEO, Lindee David (pictured).

The Joule Innovation grant program received 126 submissions of which 28 were short-listed. Recipients were selected by the Joule Innovation Council. The next round of Joule Innovation grants is open to all CMA members and closes May 1, 2017.

About Joule
Joule is a Canadian Medical Association (CMA) company. Created in 2014 to provide CMA members with cutting-edge products and services and to be a catalyst in physician-led innovation, Joule makes it easier for physicians to be at their best. Joule’s aim is to be physicians’ first choice for resources and knowledge every day.