Joule, CloudDX aim to bring VR to hospitals

OTTAWA – Joule, the Canadian Medical Association’s (CMA’s) accelerator company, has announced a new partnership with Cloud DX, Inc, the award-winning Kitchener, Ont.-based digital healthcare and artificial intelligence (AI) innovator. The goal is to bring advanced technologies, such as virtual reality, into the hospital sector.

“In today’s exponential age of digital and mobile health, AI platforms and new technologies like the Cloud DX Vitaliti monitor are becoming indispensable tools for improving patient outcomes. There is a worldwide shift in medicine to include sensor technologies, as physicians and patients focus on preventative treatments and actionable information,” says Dr. Brian Brodie, chair, Canadian Medical Association.

“Technology is changing the way Canadians will receive healthcare tomorrow and the development of the Cloud DX Vitaliti platform is bringing us one step closer to experiencing a futuristic clinical user experience, today.”

Developed by Dr. Sonny Kohli and the Cloud DX team as Canada’s entry in the recently-completed Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE competition, the Vitaliti is a wearable medical device that continuously records a patient’s vital signs, collects data on symptoms, and uses artificial intelligence to autonomously diagnose 19 separate health conditions.

At the Singularity University Canada Summit, Cloud DX is revealing a new mixed reality (virtual and augmented) application for clinical triage and decision support. By connecting Vitaliti to Microsoft’s HoloLens, doctors will be able to see a live 3D holographic display of the patient’s vital signs in the HoloLens headset.

“In the not-so-distant future, we believe that automated, hands-free, mixed reality displays like the Microsoft HoloLens will enable doctors to quickly triage patients and decide on treatment options faster,” says Dr. Sonny Kohli, chief medical officer and co-founder, Cloud DX. “Vitaliti is meant to address capacity problems within our healthcare ecosystem by solving them through non-face-to-face innovation.

“This technology can also be used in remote and rural communities or from someone’s home when access to care is more challenging. In a country as vast as Canada, these resources can have a life-saving impact on Canadians.”

The Vitaliti vital sign monitor is in clinical testing prior to approval by Health Canada, and the first commercial version of the technology will become accessible in 2018.

Meanwhile, Cloud DX provides patients with at-home Connected Health diagnostic kits and subscription-based services that are medical quality, Health Canada licensed and already in-market.

Data from these kits can act as an early-warning system for patients going into crisis, assist in keeping immune-compromised patients out of hospitals, and help people manage chronic diseases like obesity, congestive heart failure, COPD and diabetes – all while logging their most up-to-date data in real-time.

Preventing hospital admissions and moving care closer to home not only creates better outcomes for patients, it lowers costs, allowing the entire healthcare system to become more efficient.

Cloud DX Connected Health products, co-branded and co-marketed with Joule, a subsidiary of the CMA, are used by clinicians and patients in British Columbia and Ontario, and across the United States. Since launching Cloud DX, the company’s technology has taken hundreds of thousands of readings from more than 20,000 patients.

“To be effective, AI diagnostic and other med-tech tools need to serve all parties, especially physicians and patients,” adds Joule CEO, Lindee David. “The collaboration between Joule and Cloud DX brings physician-led innovation to the forefront of delivery and care and this is important to improve quality of patient care in Canada.”

About Augmented Reality in the Clinic

The Microsoft HoloLens is the first self-contained, mixed reality holographic computer, that blends the physical and digital worlds to produce new environments where physical and digital objects can co-exist and interact as if all of them were real. With multiple sensors, advanced optics, and a custom holograph processing unit, users experience a mixed reality as they travel “beyond the lens.” Cloud DX has designed a new user interface that takes full advantage of the power of the HoloLens. In partnership with student teams from Sheridan College Centre for Mobile Innovation, the project was demonstrated for the first time at the Singularity University Canada Summit.

About Cloud DX

Cloud DX Inc. is a leading competitor in the highly regulated digital healthcare industry. We provide remote patient monitoring hardware, software and recurring revenue services in a frictionless, reimbursable transaction model, coupled with a sales strategy that is driving rapid adoption among global healthcare providers. Our Cloud DX Connected Health products were invented and developed in Toronto, Canada, and Team Cloud DX won the first-ever Bold Epic Innovator Award at the Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE. Cloud DX is based out of Waterloo region, Canada with US headquarters in Brooklyn, NY. To find out more, please visit www.clouddx.com.

About Joule

Joule is the Canadian Medical Association’s newest company. Created to curate 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. Visit joule.cma.ca for more information and recent physician-led breakthroughs.

About the Canadian Medical Association

The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) is the national voice of Canadian physicians. Founded in 1867, the CMA is a voluntary professional organization representing more than 85,000 of Canada’s physician and comprising 12 provincial and territorial medical associations and 60 national medical organizations. The CMA’s mission is helping physicians care for patients. The CMA is the leader in engaging and serving physicians, and is the national voice for the highest standards for health and healthcare. For more information, visit www.cma.ca.