Brightshores leads rollout of AI wound care tech

OWEN SOUND, Ont. – Brightshores Health System is leading the regional implementation of an AI digital wound assessment tool, after securing additional co-funding from DIGITAL, Canada’s Global Innovation Cluster for digital technologies.

Supported by a nurse practitioner clinical lead from Grey County Long Term Care, and with project management and evaluation from the Brightshores Office of Research and Innovation (ORI), this technology will be implemented at the Hanover District Hospital, South Bruce Grey Health Centre and CarePartners.

After successfully rolling out the Skin and Wound tool from Swift Medical across Brightshores’ six hospital sites over the past two years, the ORI is scaling up use across Grey and Bruce counties.

Brightshores, in collaboration with leading partners including Swift Medical, Giishkaandago’Ikwe Health Services, the National Research Council of Canada, and the Centre for Technology Adoption for Aging in the North at the University of Northern British Columbia, is spearheading the creation of an Advanced AI Wound Care Network.

This ambitious initiative will focus on driving the adoption of innovative wound care technology designed to provide precise measurements and assessments of wounds.

“With the Scale Up project we will be helping other partners in Grey Bruce onboard the technology quickly and together work towards building a regional wound care approach. It will be focused on standardized assessments, improved documentation and enhanced communication between organizations as patients transition between acute and home care,” said Rebecca Brookham (pictured), director, office of research and innovation, Brightshores Health System.

This work exemplifies collaboration – between three local acute care hospitals, home and community healthcare and long-term care – to tackle wound care challenges across the region.

The Swift platform incorporates AI to determine wound surface area, depth and tissue type to aid clinician ability to predict individual healing trajectories to standardize wound assessments.

Data collected by Brightshores shows the tool can encourage patients to follow treatment plans and that the ability to track wound healing has been received positively. As patients transition between hospital and home and community healthcare, having wound history available to providers can enhance the continuity of care.

One of the key advantages of this technology is its potential to standardize wound assessments across all sites, thereby optimizing resource allocation and expediting care delivery to priority cases. By mitigating the limitations associated with traditional assessment tools and streamlining documentation processes, this innovation is poised to reduce healing time and increase timely access to care.

This collaborative project recently received additional dollars in co-funding from DIGITAL. As part of the regional rollout, partners will develop a community of practice that invites other stakeholders to help improve integration of wound care work throughout the region. The project will continue until the end of February 2027.

DIGITAL’s co-investment in this project is supported through the Technology Commercialization stream within their specialized Horizon AI program: DIGITAL’s national program that seeks to capture Canada’s economic potential for applied AI. With additional program streams focused on emerging market opportunities and talent development, the Technology Commercialization stream co-invests alongside Canadian industry and academia in AI projects that support the resiliency and sustainability of health care systems and advance health care in ways that support healthy living, accessibility and delivering positive outcomes.

The implementation of the Advanced AI Wound Care Network will empower frontline healthcare staff with a mobile tool capable of delivering accurate and standardized wound descriptions, which can assist in escalation and prioritization to the Nurse Specialist in Wound, Ostomy, and Continence (NSWOC). Leveraging AI predictions, clinicians will be guided in their care decisions, fostering improved patient outcomes and continuity of care.

Diana Ryman, Director of Quality and Safety, at Brightshores Health System, notes “We are thrilled about the potential impact of this technology on both our providers and patients. By placing this powerful tool in the hands of our frontline staff, we are paving the way for enhanced clinical decision-making, streamlined workflows, and ultimately, improved patient experiences.”

The Advanced AI Wound Care Network represents a significant step forward in healthcare innovation, aligning with Brightshores Health System’s mission to provide accessible, high-quality care to its community. Through strategic partnerships and visionary initiatives like this, Brightshores remains at the forefront of healthcare excellence.

“This technology has been a welcome tool, providing our front-line staff with extremely accurate wound care assessments. It also improves patient education by acting as a visual resource, and it reduces the burden on our limited nurse wound specialists,” said Ann Ford, president and CEO, Brightshores Health System.

Nadia Shaikh-Naeem, vice-president, programs, DIGITAL, commented:

“DIGITAL’s additional investment will help scale a proven Canadian innovation so more patients and providers can benefit from AI-enabled wound care. The team has demonstrated how this technology can support more consistent assessments, better documentation, and stronger continuity of care. We’re proud to support partners working together to adopt made-in-Canada solutions that address real health-system challenges and improve health outcomes.”

Jennifer Cornell, director of Long-Term Care and Senior Services, Grey County, said: “Grey County is pleased to be a contributing partner in this initiative. Our involvement reflects a shared commitment to innovation and the use of advanced technology to improve healthcare outcomes across the region.”

“Implementation of this technology will foster more descriptive communication between our staff and patients, allowing patients to view their wound status and changes over time,” said Saskia MacMillan, VP and chief nursing executive, Hanover District Hospital.

“Access to specialty wound resources can be very limited throughout the region. We are looking forward to implementing a tool that will enhance the ability of our staff to assess wounds in a timely and standardized manner,” said Cara Singh, VP, chief nursing executive, South Bruce Grey Health Centre.

“Grey Bruce CarePartners will be implementing this technology in community clinics and within home visits. The ability to receive a history of wound images and assessments over time as a patient moves from hospital to home care will enhance our nurses’ ability to have a fulsome understanding of the patient history and know what next steps are most appropriate.” observed Deb Forbeck, executive director – care excellence, CarePartners.