MEDTEQ+ and AGE-WELL announce a new pan-Canadian cohort of innovative collaborative projects through the envisAGE initiative
MONTREAL, July 10, 2025 /CNW/ - MEDTEQ+ and AGE-WELL, two leaders in the AgeTech sector, are pleased to announce the second cohort of 20 collaborative projects selected as part of envisAGE, an initiative that enables mature AgeTech innovations to be tested and evaluated in real-world settings across Canada with the aim of accelerating their commercialization.
The innovations selected address priority needs relevant to supporting quality aging for Canadians, including autonomy and independence, cognitive health and dementia, healthy lifestyles and wellness, maintaining social connections, supportive homes and communities, health care and health service delivery, mobility and transportation, financial wellness and employment.
This second cohort of collaborative projects adds to the 15 other projects announced last year and consists of 20 SMEs, 19 Community Labs (real-world implementation settings), 7 Beachheads (expert evaluation centres), and three Innovation Hubs (centres of excellence), all mobilized to improve the quality of life of older adults through technological innovations from across Canada.
" Older adults are critical to building our country and deserve the best possible health and wellness outcomes. Through the envisAGE initiative, we are supporting the development of cutting-edge technological innovations that are having a tremendous positive impact on the lives of Canadian seniors from coast-to-coast-to-coast," said The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions.
"In Québec, we're joining forces to harness technological innovation for the well-being of the population. The envisAGE initiative is a great example, as it accelerates the implementation of innovative technologies developed by local SMEs to help older adults stay safe, maintain their autonomy and improve their quality of life," said Christopher Skeete, Minister for the Economy, Minister Responsible for the Fight Against Racism and Minister Responsible for the Laval Region.
"We are inspired by the impressive response from Canada's AgeTech ecosystem and its mobilization through envisAGE. These collaborative projects bring together stakeholders from six different provinces with a common goal of improving the quality of life of older adults and helping professionals and caregivers. By mobilizing industry, academia, clinical and community sectors, and older adults and caregivers, envisAGE is propelling innovative solutions to market to support quality," said Sabrina Boutin, Executive Director of envisAGE, Vice President of Strategy and Global Partnerships at MEDTEQ+.
The funding for the second cohort of projects totals more than $23 million including up to $6 million in funding from the envisAGE initiative which is supported by the Government of Canada's Strategic Innovation Fund, and approximately $1.6 million from the Quebec government's Ministère de l'Économie, de l'Innovation et de l'Énergie.
The projects selected for the second cohort include:
Connected clock and Idem pillbox: implementation and evaluation of benefits in the context of home support for older adults
Eugeria, the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux du Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal and le Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal (CRIUGM) are collaborating to implement a technology combining a smart clock and a connected pillbox. The evaluation will assess the innovation's impact on the autonomy of seniors receiving home care.
AI as a conversational companion for older adults living in an institutional setting
An AI-powered companion created by Amical, an SME specializing in artificial intelligence (AI), will be assessed in collaboration with the Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux de la Capitale-Nationale and Groupe Santé Arbec.
Replacement nurse call system for management of fall prevention, unwanted exits, and infection control in a long-term care setting
St. Michael's Long-Term Care Centre (LTC) and Acute Care Alberta will evaluate longer-term impacts of Tenera Care management platform as a replacement nurse call system.
Wearable device in continuing care homes for resident monitoring, response time, fall prevention, and reduction of harm
AgeCare, and Acute Care Alberta will assess the impact to resident safety through the Fallyx wearable sensor with advanced fall detection and location monitoring technology.
TAKECARE: optimizing care and well-being in older adults' residences
To demonstrate the adaptability and applicability of a cutting-edge monitoring tool for a wide range of needs, Solutions Greybox is partnering with the Appartements du Square Angus and the NIM Intelliance/CIUSSS du Nord-de-l'Île-de-Montréal Innovation Centre.
Air-Sequr inflatable hip protector for older residents at risk of falling in long-term care
A partnership between Azimut Médical, CIUSSS Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal (Montreal Chinese Hospital) and Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal - CIUSSS Centre-Sud-de-l' Î le-de-Montréal will recruit residents at the Montreal Chinese Hospital Long-Term Care residence to assess inflatable hip devices.
AMBA smart room: enhancing resident safety and predictive care in long-term care through passive monitoring and AI-driven insights
Led by Amba Health and Care Canada Ltd., in collaboration with Donald Berman Jewish Eldercare Centre, and OROT / CIUSSS Centre-Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, this initiative will deploy smart room technology to automate resident monitoring, detect early health risks and optimize nighttime care.
Soins de Vie Plus: the care security program that promotes the autonomy of seniors at home through AI
The Soins de Vie Plus project, led by Equinoxe in collaboration with OROT- CIUSSS Centre-Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, will assess a smart remote monitoring solution allowing seniors to live safely at home.
Ambulation and retraining mobility mechanism, to improve resident mobility and independence, and staff efficiencies
BISEP Innovations Inc., The Brenda Strafford Foundation, CLIQ and Acute Care Alberta partner to evaluate the implementation, feasibility and impact of a device to attach to wheelchairs to support patient transfers and ambulation in a continuing care setting.
Dementia home operations monitoring assessment project (DHOMA)
Josephine Care, NIM Intelliance Innovation Centre - CIUSSS du Nord-de-l'Île-de-Montréal and MedicAlert Foundation Canada will assess the use of passive in-home monitoring to support older adults living with dementia and their care partners to reduce the stress related to managing evolving and changing behaviours associated with the progression of dementia and dementia-related wandering.
Evaluating the effectiveness of intelligent companion dolls in reducing social isolation and loneliness in long-term care residents, improving resident quality of life, and reducing care provider burnout
VanTech Med, in collaboration with Broadmead Care and the McMaster Institute for Research on Aging (MIRA), are conducting a project to evaluate the impact of Sundae Doll, an AI-powered companion doll on older adults' well-being and social engagement.
Integrating AI into pharmacy workflows to enhance efficiency, reduce medication errors, and improve patient safety
Asepha, in collaboration with MediSystem and Bruyère Health, is implementing an AI-powered medication reconciliation tool to automate this process.
SAGE powered by iMatr: empowering older adults using democratic technology (DemTech) - Your Voice Matters
IMtar Canada Inc. partners with Sunrise Senior Living (Burlington) and McMaster Institute for Research on Aging (MIRA) to assess the impact of SAGE (Seniors' Awareness and Global Events) to enable older adults to stay informed, discuss current events, and engage directly with their communities and elected representatives.
Taebo Reboot CogniFlow: an immersive approach combining physical exercise and cognitive stimulation for active aging
Taebo Reboot CogniFlow is an initiative led by XPR Labs that aims to integrate cognitive stimulation into a proven immersive physical exercise platform in partnership with OROT – CIUSSS Centre-Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal and the Douglas Mental Health University Institute – Centre intégré universitaire de santé
et de services sociaux de l'Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal).
Community screening app for atrial fibrillation in older adults
Braver, Université Laval and Fondation AGES collaborate to increase early detection of atrial fibrillation and improve treatment adherence to prevent stroke.
AI-powered monitoring and real-time alerts for responsive behaviours and wandering prevention in long-term care
NeuraVue, in collaboration with Langley Lodge, Centre for Technology Adoption for Aging in the North (CTAAN), and Sensors and Analytics for Monitoring Mobility and Memory (SAM 3), is implementing an AI-powered real time monitoring systems to enhance resident safety and caregiver support in long-term care environments. This innovative solution detects and alerts caregivers about responsive behaviours, such as aggression, verbal escalations, and wandering/elopement risks.
Mance-AI: intelligent detection and alert solution to enhance older adults' safety at
Sentiom, Habitations Bordeleau and IVADO are teaming up to improve the safety and quality of services in older adults' residences through a real-time analysis and alert platform linked to sensors to monitor older adults.
Integrated pharmacy-based tiered primary care model
A collaboration between Cridge Pharmacy, Care2Talk, and Centre for Technology Adoption for Aging in the North (CTAAN), introduces an innovative pharmacy-based virtual care model that integrates in-person pharmacist consultations, virtual healthcare visits, and on-site nurse practitioner (NP) care.
NurseGPT: Improving resident care in long-term care through AI-enhanced nursing documentation
Centre for Technology Adoption for Aging in the North (CTAAN), Broadmead Care and Carecorp Seniors Services are collaborating to evaluate NurseGPT, an innovative AI-powered documentation solution designed specifically to increase direct care hours provided to residents in long-term care (LTC).
Integrating sensor technology and multidisciplinary care to ensure safe, secure and healthy independent aging
The collaboration between Sensors and Analytics for Monitoring Mobility and Memory (SAM 3), Thriving.ai, and Generations aims to redefine independent aging through innovative technology which monitors, detects risks, and facilitates communication.
The entire list of 35 collaborative projects is available here.
"MEDTEQ+ is proud to co-lead this initiative which, in just two years, already supports 35 collaborative projects aimed at improving the quality of life of older adults and their caregivers through technological innovation. I would like to congratulate the funded teams for their commitment and creativity. We deeply value the contributions of all our partners in the Canadian AgeTech ecosystem, including AGE-WELL and the various levels of government for their vital support. As the needs associated with aging grow rapidly, we are putting our expertise to work for businesses and research to build a strong sector and deliver concrete solutions that allow older adults to remain autonomous, connected, and free to choose where and how they live."
Annie-Kim Gilbert, President and CEO, MEDTEQ+
"AGE-WELL congratulates the teams behind today's project announcement. AGE-WELL is committed to advancing AgeTech solutions to enhance the well-being and independence of older adults while supporting caregivers and healthcare professionals. Through envisAGE, we're bringing AgeTech to communities across Canada, driving commercialization and empowering Canadian innovators to lead in the AgeTech market. We extend our sincere appreciation to all our partners, including our co-lead MEDTEQ+, as well as the various levels of government, for their invaluable collaboration in shaping a vibrant and responsive AgeTech ecosystem."
Bridgette Murphy, Acting CEO, AGE-WELL
About envisAGE
MEDTEQ+, a leader in accelerating innovation and supporting entrepreneurs in the Canadian MedTech industry, and AGE-WELL, Canada's leading research and innovation network in AgeTech, have joined forces as co-leads in envisAGE. This large-scale pan-Canadian five-year initiative brings stakeholders together to provide resources and support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to integrate technologies that address the challenges of aging and build Canadian leadership in the AgeTech market. The envisAGE initiative is funded through the Government of Canada's Strategic Innovation Fund, with additional contributions of 4.5 million from the Government of Quebec, industry, non-profits, and other partners. To learn more about envisAGE, visit: www.envis-age.ca
About MEDTEQ+
MEDTEQ+, a pan-Canadian industrial research and innovation consortium, is dedicated to helping healthcare technology companies bring their innovations to market, accelerate economic growth and contribute to improving the health of the population. Through its unique expertise and collaborative approach, MEDTEQ+ offers support services across the innovation continuum, validation and integration of technological solutions in real-life environments, financing and networking with key ecosystem partners to accelerate the commercialization of innovative healthcare technologies. MEDTEQ+ also supports the envisAGE initiative, which aims to catalyze the AgeTech ecosystem and stimulate technological development in supporting aging. MEDTEQ+ relies, among others, on financial support from the Government of Quebec, the Government of Canada, the private sector and complementary partners to foster research and industry relations.
www.medteq.ca
About AGE-WELL
AGE-WELL is Canada's Technology and Aging Network. As a dynamic pan-Canadian network with global reach, AGE-WELL has mobilized a vast community of researchers, older adults, caregivers, partner organizations, and future leaders to accelerate the delivery of technology-based solutions that make a meaningful difference in the lives of older Canadians and their caregivers. AGE-WELL serves as a catalyst for technological innovation that supports healthy aging while driving Canada's growing AgeTech sector. www.agewell-nce.ca
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Cision Canada
27 minutes ago
- Cision Canada
Intellistake and PowerBank Announce Strategic Alliance to Pioneer Digital Currencies, including Bitcoin Treasury Integration and RWA Tokenization
Highlights of the Partnership: Digital Currency Treasury Program: PowerBank will accumulate Bitcoin and Intellistake will accumulate digital currencies that support decentralized AI. Bitcoin Treasury Management: Intellistake will help manage digital asset operations for PowerBank and serve as the Company's supporting partner for security, custody, and treasury management. Tokenized Energy Assets: Potential for First-of-their-kind tokens backed by RWA including solar and storage infrastructure. VANCOUVER, BC, July 31, 2025 /CNW/ - Intellistake Technologies Corp. (CSE: ISTK) (OTC: ISTKF) (FSE: E41) (" Intellistake" or the" Company") – announces a transaction with PowerBank Corporation (" PowerBank") that involves the intersection of digital assets, energy, and tokenized finance. Intellistake is a technology company bridging traditional capital markets with decentralized AI and blockchain infrastructure, and PowerBank (Nasdaq: SUUN) (formerly SolarBank), is a leader in clean energy infrastructure. Together, these two high-growth companies will pursue three seminal initiatives: A Digital Asset Treasury Program: Leveraging Bitcoin as a long-term treasury reserve asset, both PowerBank, with Intellistake's support, intends to accumulate and hold Bitcoin on its balance sheet and Intellistake intends to accumulate digital assets that support decentralized AI, such as FET Token — aligning with the global shift toward decentralized financial reserves. Bitcoin Treasury Management: Under the partnership framework, Intellistake will help manage digital asset operations for PowerBank and serve as PowerBank's supporting partner for security, custody, and treasury management of Bitcoin. The Tokenization of Real-World Assets (RWA): Intellistake and PowerBank are evaluating the potential tokenization of PowerBank's clean energy assets or shares — providing an investment and financing alternative. "Tokenization is no longer a concept—it's an inevitability," said Jason Dussault, CEO of Intellistake. "By combining our expertise in capital markets and digital asset custody with PowerBank's scalable, real-world energy platform, we're unlocking a new opportunity.." As institutions and sovereign funds increasingly embrace tokenized securities and decentralized asset strategies, the Intellistake–PowerBank partnership centres on transforming legacy energy systems into a tokenized product. According to a recent report by CryptoSlate, analysts forecast that the market cap for tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) could reach $30 trillion by 2034 (1) —driven by advances in blockchain, AI, and investor demand for transparent, real-time asset ownership and settlement. "This partnership is about more than collaboration—it's about setting the pace for a shift in how companies manage capital and assets," said Dr. Richard Lu, CEO of PowerBank."As the world accelerates toward AI, automation, and clean energy, Bitcoin and tokenization are presenting new opportunities. PowerBank and Intellistake are here to take part in that transformation, to bridge traditional energy infrastructure with the demand of the digital economy." Intellistake and PowerBank are presently evaluating the regulatory framework for tokenization. Any tokenization will be subject to it being completed in compliance with applicable law, regulatory requirements and terms of any underlying agreements associated with PowerBank assets. The actual structure of such tokenization, the assets that would be subject to tokenization, and the associated timeline, have not yet been determined. Intellistake and PowerBank will provide further updates as material developments related to this tokenization strategy occur. Intellistake has very recently completed the change of business transaction and is presently at an early stage of development. It has not yet acquired any digital assets, nor has it commenced validator and staking operations. It has also not yet developed any AI technology solutions. With the change of business completed it will now commence the execution of the business plan described in the Listing Statement dated June 30, 2025 and filed with the Canadian Securities Exchange and on SEDAR+ at It is important to note that as with any investment there are risks including that digital assets remain an emerging assets class with government regulation still under development, there has been significant volatility in digital assets and their value can decline rapidly, historical performance of digital assets in not indicative of their future performance and global digital asset demand may not continue to increase due to global financial conditions and other factors. Intellistake is a start-up that does not have the same access to capital as other larger more established companies. Please refer to "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information" and the Listing Statement for additional details on the risks associated with the Company's business. The actual timing and value of Bitcoin purchases, under the allocation strategy will be determined by management. Purchases will also depend on several factors, including, among others, general market and business conditions, the trading price of Bitcoin and the anticipated cash needs of Intellistake or PowerBank. The allocation strategy may be suspended, discontinued or modified at any time for any reason. As of the date of this press release, no Bitcoin purchases have been made. (1) For additional information on the business of Intellistake please refer to About PowerBank For additional information on the business of Intellistake please refer to Company Contact Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information This news release contains "forward-looking information" concerning anticipated developments and events related to the Company that may occur in the future. Forward looking information contained in this news release includes, but is not limited to, all statements in respect of the Company's growth and development, the operations and business segments of the Company; details of planned validator operations, details of the partnership between the Company and PowerBank including the Bitcoin treasury program, Bitcoin treasury management and tokenized energy assets, and expectations regarding the market for digital currencies, tokenization and decentralized AI. In certain cases, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as "expects", "intends", "anticipates" or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "would", or "might" suggesting future outcomes, or other expectations, assumptions, intentions or statements about future events or performance. Forward-looking information contained in this news release is based on certain assumptions regarding, among other things, the Company will continue to have access to financing until it achieves profitability; the technology and blockchain industries in which the Company intends to focus its business in will grow at the rate and in the manner expected; the ability to attract qualified personnel; the success of market initiatives and the ability to grow brand awareness; the ability to distribute Company's services; the Company creates strategies to mitigate risks associated with cryptocurrency price fluctuations; the Company remains compliant with all applicable laws and securities regulations; the Company engages and collaborates with local experts, as necessary, to address jurisdiction-specific matters and ensures compliance with foreign regulations to avoid penalties; the Company addresses any potential cybersecurity threats promptly and effectively; and the ability to successfully deploy the new business strategy as a result of the change of business. While the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable, they may be incorrect. Forward looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results to be materially different from any future results expressed by the forward-looking information. Such factors include risks related to general business, economic and social uncertainties; failure to raise the capital necessary to fund its operations; inability to create strategies to mitigate the risks associated with cryptocurrency price fluctuations; the costs of regulation in the digital asset industries increase to the extent that the Company is no longer generating sufficient returns for shareholders; failure to promptly and effectively address cybersecurity threats; insufficient resources to maintain its operations on a competitive basis; and the actual costs, timing and future plans differs expectations; legislative, environmental and other judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments; the inherent risks involved in the cryptocurrency and general securities markets; the Company may not be able to profitably liquidate its current digital currency inventory, or at all; a decline in digital currency prices may have a significant negative impact on the Company's operations; the volatility of digital currency prices; the inherent uncertainty of cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses, currency fluctuations; regulatory restrictions, liability, competition, loss of key employees and other related risks and uncertainties; delay or failure to receive regulatory approvals; failure to attract qualified personnel, labour disputes; and the additional risks identified in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's filings with applicable Canadian securities regulators. Although the Company has attempted to identify factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The forward-looking information is made as of the date of this news release. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update forward-looking information.
Cision Canada
an hour ago
- Cision Canada
OpenWay recognized as Best-in-Class in Datos Insights' 2025 Matrix for Merchant Acquiring Platforms
BRUSSELS, July 31, 2025 /CNW/ -- OpenWay, a global leader in payments software and developer of the Way4 digital payment software platform, has been recognized as a Best-in-Class vendor in the 2025 Merchant Acquiring Software Platforms Matrix by Datos Insights. The ranking places OpenWay in the Market Leaders quadrant, based on the strength of its solution capabilities, high customer satisfaction, innovation score, and strong alignment with the strategic needs of modern acquirers. In this year's evaluation, Way4 received the highest score on the Strength/Capability axis, confirming that the platform sets the standard in product depth, multifunctionality, and flexibility. Way4 Merchant Acquiring empowers top-tier acquiring banks, processors, and ambitious fintechs in the Americas, Europe, MENA, and APAC to launch, scale, and tailor their merchant services — with fast time to market, real-time operations, high-volume performance, and the flexibility and speed of innovation. Built for global growth and local success, the platform supports a "glocal" service model that combines international best practices with local cultural and regulatory expertise in the time zone of the client. The platform enables a complete merchant lifecycle: from digital onboarding to dynamic and risk-based pricing, omnichannel and multi-asset acceptance (POS, e-commerce, softPOS, cards, wallets, crypto, CBDCs, A2A), real-time clearing, and reporting. Way4 also offers rich APIs, tokenization, FX tools, DCC, MCP, streaming analytics, and data-driven loyalty — as well as composable architecture that allows institutions to configure ~95% of product logic via parameters, without coding. "We are honored by this recognition from Datos Insights. It reaffirms our strategic focus and our commitment to helping clients grow and differentiate their acquiring business," says Paul Gubin, CEO of OpenWay. "We thank our clients for their partnership and trust, and our global team for consistently delivering at the highest level." This recognition continues OpenWay's history of industry leadership. Over the past decade, Way4 has been ranked Best-in-Class by Aite (now Datos Insights), Gartner, PayTech, Juniper Research, and Ovum for enabling first-to-market innovations in digital wallets, card management, CaaS, and cloud payment processing. Ron van Wezel, Strategic Advisor at Datos Insights, commented: "The Datos Matrix helps acquirers identify the vendors best positioned to support their growth and innovation. OpenWay's strong position in the 2025 Matrix reflects its clear product strategy, robust platform capabilities, and alignment with the needs of modern acquirers. Way4 stands out for its flexibility, breadth, and innovation — all critical for supporting the future of merchant services." Thad Peterson, Strategic Advisor at Datos Insights, added: "The merchant acquiring market is undergoing a rapid transformation. New payment methods, embedded finance, and demand for real-time services are reshaping what acquirers need from their platforms. Solutions like Way4 that combine flexibility, scalability, and global-local adaptability are exactly what leading institutions are looking for today."
Cision Canada
6 hours ago
- Cision Canada
Al Mokhtar Food Centre brand Pistachio recalled due to Salmonella Français
OTTAWA, ON, July 30, 2025 /CNW/ - Product: Pistachio Issue: Food - Microbial contamination - Salmonella Distribution Ontario Online link SOURCE Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)
