Medventions Atlantic launches medtech entrepreneurship pilot program in NL
From the Springboard Content Lab
INOVAIT Canada has announced the launch of the Medventions Atlantic–NL Pilot Program in partnership with NL Health Services’ Living Lab and the Nova Scotia Health Innovation Hub.
Medventions Atlantic–NL gives participants practical, hands-on experience to transform medical ideas into real products. The program works by linking innovators with real problems faced by health-care workers. It will focus on addressing technological gaps in anesthesiology, an area with significant potential for innovation and improved patient care.
Participants receive mentorship from clinicians and industry experts. They learn how to transform unmet healthcare needs into innovative medical technologies.
This pilot marks the third Medventions site across Canada, expanding our mission to build a pan-Canadian medtech innovation workforce and empower the next generation of medtech entrepreneurs.
“Canada’s medtech sector is at a defining moment — one shaped by rapid advances in artificial intelligence. To translate these breakthroughs from bench to bedside, Canada must invest not only in technology but in the people who will commercialize it. That’s why the expansion of Medventions to a third site in Canada marks a pivotal step in building a pan-Canadian innovation workforce.”
Dr. Ahmed Nasef, Co-Founder and Co-Director of Medventions
Medventions expands national research
Founded in 2016 by Sunnybrook Research Institute (SRI) in Toronto, Medventions is a hospital-based, commercialization-focused fellowship designed to equip motivated medtech entrepreneurs with the skills needed to fuel Canada’s growing medtech sector.
Medventions participants are assigned a clinical area and a dedicated clinician to shadow and work with for the duration of the fellowship, identifying clinical opportunities for innovation in real health-care settings. During the program, fellows also attend courses and seminars to equip them with the latest knowledge on innovating and commercializing medical devices.
NL Health Services’ Living Lab and innovation team will work collaboratively with the Nova Scotia Health Innovation Hub, along with the Medventions team at Sunnybrook, to deliver the first Medventions Atlantic–NL cohort in Carbonear and St. John’s.
Building on the success of Medventions’ expansion into Nova Scotia, the Health Innovation Hub is supporting the continued growth of Medventions Atlantic into Newfoundland and Labrador.
“NL Health Services is pleased with Medventions’ expansion to Newfoundland and Labrador and looks forward to continued collaboration with partners and innovators across the province. This initiative will provide valuable experience and opportunities to strengthen the medtech sector here. As a health authority, we have been nurturing health-care innovators, and through this fellowship pilot program, we can offer direct, hands-on experience with mentors to guide advancements that will enhance the health and well-being of people throughout the province.”
Ron Johnson, Vice President of Digital Health, Innovation and Research, and Chief Information Officer (A) for NL Health Services
The Medventions program is supported by INOVAIT, Canada’s image-guided therapy and artificial intelligence network led by SRI and funded in part through the Government of Canada’s Strategic Response Fund.
As Canada faces increasing demands within healthcare, it’s critical that we are not only developing innovative devices from a Canadian health-care context but also empowering Canadians to lead the commercialization of these cutting-edge devices. By fostering entrepreneurial capacity nationwide, we’re ensuring Canadian ideas are built by Canadian innovators–anchoring economic growth, creating career-launching jobs, and ultimately delivering better health outcomes for years to come.
For full details on the Medventions Atlantic–NL pilot program, please visit the dedicated web page to learn more: https://medventions.ca/medventions-atlantic/medventions-atlantic-nl/
About Medventions
Founded at Sunnybrook Research Institute, Medventions is a hospital-based, medtech innovation fellowship program that targets clinical needs and nurtures Canada’s promising medtech entrepreneurs. The fellowship program uniquely creates opportunities for meaningful clinical innovation. Medventions bridges the understanding gap between engineering research and the clinical domain by immersing fellows in real clinical settings across Canada, allowing them to observe clinical procedures and engage with clinicians to hone in the true needs of Canadian healthcare and develop innovations to solve for those needs.