Media Release
Mohawk College partners with m-Health Solutions to improve cardiac care for heart disease and stroke patients
Mohawk College’s mHealth & eHealth Development and Innovation Centre (MEDIC) and Burlington-based m-Health Solutions are collaborating on an applied research project aimed at improving care for heart disease and stroke patients in Ontario and Alberta, and ultimately across Canada.
The $900,000 project is the first multi-province project to be funded by NSERC, Ontario Centres for Excellence and Alberta Innovates. Using Alberta as the proving ground, m-Health Solutions is working with Mohawk College to test an innovative mobile cardiac monitoring device that can be remotely monitored in real time.
Mohawk’s role in the project is the development of the software to be used in the remote monitoring devices as well as modern virtual homecare services such as patient and clinician video conferencing. Mohawk is working with m-Health Solutions to explore how to adapt the technology for use in the remote monitoring of blood pressure, oximetry, glucose and sleep apnea for patients with conditions such as COPD and Heart Failure.
If successful, the results could be repeated nationwide, modernizing the health care system and giving patients across Canada, and in remote communities in particular, better access to health care that is more affordable for everyone involved.
“Working with community partners to develop innovative solutions to complex challenges is a priority for Mohawk. The knowledge gained from this project will strengthen Mohawk College’s expertise in the future development of mobile health technologies.”
"This project is an exciting opportunity for m-Health Solutions to broaden its reach by developing an innovative new healthcare platform. Working with Mohawk College through the AOIP program will help us improve health outcomes for Canadians.”
“NSERC’s Applied Research and Development grants connect industry partners with the unique knowledge and expertise available at Canadian colleges and provide students with essential skills required by companies. We are proud to support this R&D partnership that will develop cutting-edge technologies to modernize health care services by improving accessibility and affordability for heart disease and stroke patients.”
"Collaboration is at the heart of the innovation ecosystem and government-funded initiatives like the Alberta-Ontario Innovation Program recognize that through partnerships in our research and development community, we can see tremendous results for challenges facing the environment, manufacturing, jobs and the economy."
Fast Facts:
- The project gives 12 Mohawk students employed with MEDIC hands-on experience developing software related to the integration of ambulatory monitoring devices.
- Two Mohawk students are directly involved in specialized network engineering tasks required for the development of m-CARDS.
- m-CARDS are already in use in Ontario where >70,000 patients have been diagnosed using the technology.
- The Ontario government has identified mobile and virtual health care as important tools to be used in reducing the burden on the province’s health care system as the population ages.
- Within the next 25 years, the number of Canadians over the age of 65 will double, reaching 10.4 million people.
- The Heart and Stroke Foundation estimates that there are more than 1.6 million Canadians living with heart disease or the effects of a stroke. The cost to the Canadian economy is an estimated $21 billion per year in physician services, hospital costs and decreased productivity.
Contact:
Jay Robb
Director of Communications, Mohawk College
905-575-1212, ext. 3965
Mohawk College educates and serves more than 29,500 full-time, part-time, apprenticeship and international students at three main campuses in Hamilton, Ontario and learning hubs across Hamilton through City School by Mohawk, and at the College’s Centre for Aviation Technology at the Hamilton International Airport. Mohawk is among the top five colleges for applied research in Canada. It has been named one of Canada’s greenest employers seven years in a row, holds a GOLD STARS rating from AASHE for sustainability achievements and is home to the country’s largest and first institutional building to receive dual certification for Zero Carbon Building Framework design and performance for The Joyce Centre for Partnership & Innovation. More than 135,000 people have graduated from Mohawk since it was founded.