Kanata-based accelerator L-Spark is teaming up with a series of Canadian tech and telecom leaders to help medical technology firms bring new products to market faster.
L-Spark is collaborating with existing partners Telus, BlackBerry and Solace as well as the Canadian Internet Registration Authority on the new medtech accelerator, which follows in the footsteps of previous programs aimed at helping scale up companies in the Internet of Things and automotive tech fields.
Companies taking part in the six-month program will gain access to technology and expertise from L-Spark’s partners aimed at creating and commercializing cutting-edge medical software and devices that are connected to the internet.
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Meanwhile, L-Spark will provide business advice and mentorship as well as help set up partnerships between the participating firms and health-care organizations that will offer feedback and help test the companies’ solutions.
The program is targeting Canadian firms, with the goal of ramping up this country’s ability to be a leader in the lucrative Internet of Medical Things space – which includes all medical devices and applications connected to information technology systems.
According to market research firm Frost & Sullivan, the global IoMT market is expected to be worth more than US$70 billion by 2021. L-Spark says the sector was already growing at a rate of 25 per cent annually before COVID-19, with G2 Research predicting that 40 per cent of all hospitals and health-care organizations will be using connected devices within the next 10 years.
“COVID-19 has accelerated the adoption of telehealth applications, and the ability to deploy various health monitoring devices that can securely connect patients and clinicians remotely will further enhance the accessibility of care,” L-Spark executive managing director Leo Lax said in a statement. “These technologies will be essential to the future of health care.”
The new accelerator follows an existing partnership launched in 2018 between L-Spark and BlackBerry, which has seen local companies such as Martello Technologies and Bluink work with the Waterloo-based company to commercialize new products in the automotive tech space. Last year, L-Spark teamed up with BlackBerry, Telus and Solace to offer a similar program to companies in the IoT sector.
“The importance of efficiently distributing real-time data about test results, treatments and outcomes has never been greater, making it imperative that we advance the state of the art of IoMT as quickly as possible,” Shawn McAllister, Solace’s chief technology officer, said in a statement.
Applications are now open for the program. L-Spark says ideal applicants will be headquartered in Canada and have “the required team and capacity to execute projects during the accelerator program timeframe.”
