Deep Space Healthcare Challenge Semi-finalists insights

Pelican MRI

An MRI for space needs to be very light, usable by astronauts and address a wide variety of diagnostic problems. Replace the astronaut with a nurse and the same MRI is useful for remote Canadian communities.

Université de Montréal

The opportunity to contribute to issues in remote communities and potentially provide the tools needed to conquer space is extremely motivating. The needs identified by the Canadian Space Agency are perfectly in line with our research over the past 20 years.

University of New Brunswick

"I live in areas where access to immediate and specialized medical care is limited, many communities are medically underserved not only due to shortage on medical stuff but also due to a long and costly travel to the first accessible clinic. A goal for my research teams is to participate in meaningful innovation that particularly helps to develop new point-of-care devices for citizens living in rural locations, where help is particularly needed." –Anna Ignaszak

Applications MD

Find people in the field who work in these extreme settings. If they find your solution relevant, that's the best sign of a solution that could be useful on the way to Mars!

PLAKK

Participating in the Deep Space Healthcare Challenge has been an enlightening and valuable experience. Access to support activities, through the form of workshops and a community advisor program has helped us to better understand the requirements for medical technology development and integration in medically isolated communities and for deep space exploration, which has enabled us to better design our innovation in a way that would directly benefit these communities.

Pulsence

Deep space healthcare is still a major hurdle for exploration missions and for maintaining a human presence beyond low-Earth orbit. I just want to play a small role in achieving those goals for humanity.

Sonoscope Inc

Deep space considerations help us look differently at conditions of use that are not that far from remote and resource-poor regions. It helps to push the boundaries by thinking about common problems from varying angles.

IndigenousTech.ai

DSHC amplifies awareness to Canadian citizens about the latest technology in remote healthcare. DHSC puts a spotlight on the top experts in the area who are constantly working to save lives of those patients who have little or no access to health services. DHSC also inspires experts to create advancements in their mindset beyond the challenge. Today competitors are pondering on Earth's physical barriers, market competition, social trust and unaddressed hurdles. However, the advancements are also impacting health practitioners to leverage technology that will help diagnose people who are going to be in a very new environment and condition that can impact their health differently.

LightX Innovations Inc.

DSHC has provided numerous supporting resources to help innovators – financial, coaching, webinar, networking and connection with remote communities. We fell the organization want our success first to contribute to the larger scope of Canadian space health success. Through the DSHC, CSA have created an ecosystem that thrives and where it is extremely motivating being part of.

Swift Medical

The Deep Space Healthcare Challenge has provided us the opportunity to deepen our relationships and enhance our work with remote, indigenous communities – allowing us to better understand the everyday challenges faced by care providers and patients and design empathetic technology that better supports clinicians in delivering more accessible and equitable care.

Optican Systems Inc.

This has been the most fantastic experience for us. The excitement of being considered one of Canada's most innovative technologies has given the team a great deal of energy to complete the development of our technology.

ADGA Group Consultants Inc.

MedCoach attempts to address the lack of healthcare resources and reliable internet connectivity in many remote Canadian communities.

The lack of reliable internet in many regions makes remote medicine (live interaction with a health professional located South) problematic, let alone in emergency situations. The solution investigated by ADGA consists in a hands-free stand-alone system that provides step-by-step instructions for local practitioners to perform medical procedures, or obtain refresher training in preparation for such a procedure.

Alentic

Participation in the DSHC so far has been rewarding. We have appreciated the opportunity to learn from domain experts and key opinion leaders. Doing so in collaboration with a cohort of innovators who all share the goal of improving healthcare in our Canadian remote communities and for our astronauts has been a positive and uplifting experience.

Neursantys Inc

The DSHC has built a critical pipeline to promote and advocate for innovative solutions for sustaining humans during long-duration space flight. Many of these solutions are essentially addressing the “accelerated aging” that micro-gravity environments trigger in many physiological systems in the human body. As a result, advancements spurred by the DSHC will have the potential to address the enormous challenges that we face here on Earth in caring for our rapidly aging populations, especially those in remote and underserved communities.

Texavie

We address assessment and therapy of musculoskeletal conditions including joint and muscle conditions that are 30% more prevalent in remote communities and require long term therapy for improvements. Our solution help the user to assess these using an easy to use mobile app and AI and get personalized therapy.

McMaster University

The ability to make impact both toward space research and on healthcare here on earth.

Wosler Corp.

We are working to improve access to healthcare labour for patients in rural and remote communities. We are currently focused on improving access to ultrasound technologists in rural communities while building the infrastructure that will enable better access to healthcare labour during deep space exploration.

Centre for Surgical Invention and Innovation (CSii)

Our goal to develop an autonomous image-guided robotic system that makes high quality and timely cancer care accessible to patients in remote Canadian communities, as well as provide a solution for the provision of emergency surgical care for deep space missions aligns perfectly with the objectives of this challenge.

Luxsonic

There is a saying, "don't do it for me, without me." As a technology solution provider, it is critical to have a community partner to be able to provide a technology solution that truly meets the needs of the community. By developing a solution together, technology solutions can be contextualized to a meet a remote community's unique challenges.