Grant: Technology Access Centre

Centennial College proposes to establish a Wearable, Interactive, and Mobile Technologies Access Centre in Healthcare (WIMTACH). WIMTACH will build on Centennials successful record over the past five years in college-industry innovation with health technologies, with 60 companies engaged, 40 products developed, and 30 products commercialized. The number of seniors living in Ontario is expected to double over the next 20 years, and result in healthcare costs consuming 70% of the provincial budget within 12 years. Health system innovation is a priority for the Canadian government. The Canadian Medical Association believes that digitizing healthcare delivery through various health tech solutions has a critical role. Home to 42% of Canada's medical technology industry, Ontario is positioned to foster the growth of digital technologies in healthcare. However, this industry is hindered by challenges that include competition for limited talent and capital, need for cross-industry partnerships, and accessing global markets. WIMTACH will address several of these challenges by enabling a full suite of technology development and commercialization services through Centennial. WIMTACH will provide the unique proposition of a mobile, wearable, and interactive research facility and field-based usability testing frameworks at Centennial. WIMTACH brings together proven multi-disciplinary faculty/staff experience, diversity and depth of students, state-of-the-art facilities across four Centennial campuses, international reach, robust project management based on best practices, and an extensive innovation ecosystem to benefit Canadas health technologies industry.