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The Entrepreneurial Estonian: Innovation and Better Healthcare

Rising costs, changing demographics, and increasing expectations are putting a strain on healthcare systems across the globe. Many solutions have been proposed, from re-arranging how healthcare works to giving people a greater responsibility for their health.

Maarika Merirand, Consultant at Emerging Health International

But we should also not underestimate the potential impact of health innovations that enable more personalized and precise prevention, monitoring and treatment.

Mars Impact Health, an annual health innovation conference that takes place in Toronto, highlighted a variety of novel solutions in drug development, medical devices, and digital technologies at its most recent session. Below are some of the noteworthy Canadian-developed medical devices that might change the face of healthcare soon.

Dialysis

Setting up and running centres to serve patients with chronic conditions can be very resource-intensive and require bulky devices. For example, a dialysis centre for patients with kidney failure requires constant access to electric outlets and tap water, as well as bulky water purification systems. A Waterloo-based company Qidni is currently entering clinical trials with a dialysis device that is smaller, runs on a chargeable battery, and instead of 120 litres of purified water only requires a few bags of saline solution for a single session. Such a device could provide better access to dialysis in remote areas, make home dialysis easier, and serve in emergency cases, such as in the battlefield or during natural disasters.

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