INOVAIT funds 10 more projects with $1.35M

TORONTO – INOVAIT, Canada’s image-guided therapy (IGT) and artificial intelligence (AI) commercialization network, has announced the latest recipients of its Pilot Fund. This research and development (R&D) funding program supports cutting-edge medical technology projects that harness the transformative power of AI, machine learning, and big data analytics in IGT to advance medical innovation and streamline care.

INOVAIT committed $1.35 million to support 10 new projects involving collaborations between small- and medium-sized enterprises, hospital research centres, and academic institutions, creating jobs and launching healthcare innovation across the country. The combined value of the selected projects is nearly $4.16 million contributed by all project participants along with INOVAIT.

The Pilot Fund provides up to $150,000 in funding for collaborative R&D projects lasting 9 to 15 months. To date, INOVAIT has selected over 100 image-guided therapy and AI projects for funding, leading to an infusion of over $128 million into the Canadian image-guided therapy sector across the last six years.

“Canada’s medtech sector does not lack for bold ideas in IGT and AI; it lacks the commercialization mechanisms to validate them. The Pilot Fund gives innovators the runway to deliver prototypes, stress test their technologies and build the evidence base that attracts investment,” said Raphael Ronen (pictured), co-executive director, INOVAIT

The INOVAIT Pilot Fund is made possible through the Government of Canada’s Strategic Response Fund.

Among the newly funded projects are:

• Perimeter Medical Imaging, of Toronto. In collaboration with the University of Toronto, Perimeter Medical Imaging is developing a scalable AI infrastructure for an intraoperative Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) device. This project aims dramatically reduce the 20 percent re-operation rate currently plaguing breast conserving surgeries.
• Hyivy Health, of Kitchener, Ont., in collaboration with the University of Waterloo will develop and validate the first AI-enabled, image-guided intravaginal therapy system that integrates real-time ultrasound, infrared perfusion sensing, optical imaging, and multimodal biomechanical sensors to create a longitudinal pelvic health intelligence platform. This project aims to create a system that can objectively diagnose, monitor, and personalize treatment for chronic pelvic pain, tissue changes, pelvic floor dysfunction, and related gynecologic and colorectal conditions.
• Vope Medical of Montreal, in collaboration with the University Health Network, will evaluate CLARIS, a real-time AI platform that improves visibility during minimally invasive surgery by digitally removing smoke and visual obstructions. The project aims to improve downstream surgical AI workflows.

Other awards can be found on the INOVAIT website. The announcement was made at the Medventions Toronto Innovation Day, hosted earlier this week at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto.