On January 25, 2023, a national launch event was held to unveil envisAGE, a large-scale pan-Canadian initiative with the mission of catalyzing Canada’s AgeTech ecosystem by supporting innovators to grow and scale their enterprises and deliver technology solutions that help older Canadians maintain a better quality of life, longer. The envisAGE network, co-led by MEDTEQ+ and AGE-WELL, is supported by an investment of $47 million from the Government of Canada’s Strategic Innovation Fund, which was announced in December 2022.

The launch event, held in Montreal and hosted by MEDTEQ+, included a panel discussion featuring Dr. Sandra McKay, Vice President, Research & Innovation at VHA Home HealthCare (VHA), along with Dr. Quoc Dinh Nguyen, Geriatrician at Centre hospitalier de l’Universite de Montreal and Rich McAloney, Director at Centre for Technology Adoption for Aging in the North sharing their perspectives on aging and AgeTech innovation in Canada. Speaking about challenges for adoption of technologies in the past, Sandra commented, “I am particularly hopeful because of the improvements we’ve made with things like the portability of devices, wireless sensing technologies and our ability to transfer data securely, the approach to having wireless connectivity across the country. These are all fundamental barriers to implementation in the home.”

“But making a great device isn’t sufficient,” Sandra continued. “We also need individuals who are willing to trial and demonstrate the value and impact of devices so they can be adopted. COVID has ushered in a willingness to engage and interact with technologies. So I am hopeful things are coalescing so that as the technologies are ready, we’ll be ready and the envisAGE Community Labs will be great support for these efforts.”

A recording of the full panel discussion can be viewed below:

Through envisAGE, enterprises will be able to collaborate closely with communities, retirement homes, long-term care homes and private homes, where they can demonstrate and implement their products while creating a pathway to scaling their venture.

 To support this initiative, VHA is establishing a network of community homes to implement promising technologies as a solution-focused approach to supporting people to live independently.

envisAGE will be issuing an open call for proposals for solutions by the end of Spring 2023. To join envisAGE and learn more, visit: www.envis-age.ca. To learn more about research and innovation at VHA, visit: https://www.vha.ca/research/.