June 28, 2024
Velocity startups are helping Canada prepare for population growth and aging
Products and services created by Waterloo founders are improving the well-being of Canadians
Canada’s population could double in the next 50 years, and the population of people aged 85 and older could triple, according to the Statistics Canada data released earlier this week.
University of Waterloo entrepreneurs are leading health innovation in Canada to create solutions that address the social determinants of health, including healthy aging and access to health care. Before the recent population projections were published, Velocity-linked health startups were already fixing issues related to overwhelmed hospitals and long-term care.
Aging in place, safely
TAMVOES
Jessica Lunshof and Jordan Lunshof (BSc '23) are witnessing the aging boom first-hand at TAMVOES, a startup that created a platform that gives patients access to their own health care information so they can track and share care plans and appointments. The team has also branched out into home care services.
“The company is growing all the time,” says Jessica Lunshof, CEO of TAMVOES. “I started TAMVOES because of the inefficiencies and lack of continuity of care I ran into while caring for my mother and grandmother. Our other services are an extension of why I started the company, and we help people stay at home as long as possible, as comfortably as possible, even pass away peacefully at home if that is feasible.”
TAMVOES was founded after Jessica Lunshof cared for her mother Yvonne DeVoest (L), pictured here with Jordan Lunshof.
TAMVOES has not only partnered with a U.S.-based company to create lab test and pharmacy efficiencies, but also with another startup that simplifies the process of applying for the disability tax credit. Each partnership is designed to enhance the care of individuals and their caregivers.
But TAMVOES' heartbeat is its platform, especially for caregivers who are often overwhelmed due to the complexity of the healthcare system, Jessica Lunshof says.
“Caregivers have to go through too many channels, and so much stress,” she says. “But if a caregiver and home services staff know what’s going on, they can proactively take care of the elderly person’s health before problems become too big.”
Chirp
Chirp is a startup that makes hardware to detect falls and other movement. Justin Schorn is CEO and co-founder alongside Parthipan Siva (BASc '05, MASc '07), professor in the Department of Systems Design Engineering, and Shannon White (BMath '91, MMath '93).
Schorn says the growing aging population shows a need for a device like theirs, both for private residences and long-term care homes.
The Chirp wall-mounted device can detect falls using radar.
Chirp’s fire alarm-sized, wall-mounted device uses radar to alert caregivers and health-care providers if a person’s movement has changed or if they’ve fallen. Schorn says that detecting by radar instead of camera safeguards privacy. It is also more convenient than popular wearable alerts, which the user must always wear.
“The waitlist in Ontario to get into long-term care has tens of thousands of people,” Schorn says. “The need for solutions to safely age in place is high. We are seeing hybrid models emerge where long-term care facilities are deploying solutions in the community.”
The startup is working with community paramedics programs, which offer medical services at home to minimize unnecessary repeat hospital visits. They also aim to distribute to long-term care and other facilities to benefit staffing, which can be short overnight.
“As people age and their chronic conditions evolve, we have to put the right interventions in place,” Schorn says.
Disease diagnosis and treatment in the community
Velocity-linked startups are also bringing new solutions to market that bolster community health care.
Qidni
Qidni’s portable and nearly waterless dialysis makes the procedure accessible for patients with kidney failure. Founder and CEO, Morteza Ahmadi (PhD '13), says that standard dialysis uses large and expensive machines that require patients to receive treatment at a clinic three to four times a week. Qidni’s device allows patients to dialyze anywhere and at any time.
Cobionix
Cobionix is making an AI-powered robotics system as a labour solution for health-care providers. Codi™, pictured in the banner image, is the first application that can perform ultrasounds remotely, and eventually, autonomously. The Ai-powered robotics system can bridge health-care gaps in rural communities, decrease health care wait times, lower procedure costs and directly improve patient care.
The startup is conducting clinical trials in Saskatchewan. Cobionix is co-founded by a team of Waterloo alumni, Nima Zamani (BASc '14, MASc '18), Dr. Tim Laswell (BASc '14, MASc '17) and John Van Leeuwen (BSc '81). Zamani is also the CTO of Cobionix with Matthew Sefati (BSc '16) as CEO.
ForesAIt Medical Inc.
ForesAIt Medical Inc. is a student team whose software aims to help chronic disease patients and their health-care teams manage their health more effectively. The platform uses health data from wearable devices and applies AI-driven analytics.
Ibukun Elebute, the founder and a graduate student in the Master of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology program, says giving chronically ill patients reliable health information can help them predict and control their symptoms.
HeMeTekx
HeMeTekx is developing a point-of-care device, which uses nanobiosensor technology and AI, to measure many common biomarkers that are currently only available in a clinical lab or emergency department. The platform aims to make essential blood tests more accessible. The startup’s founder is Shirley Tang, a professor in the Department of Chemistry and the associate dean of Science (Research).
Velocity health companies are funded in part by the Government of Canada through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), to support startups in the health-tech sector.
