Ryerson University and St. Michael’s hospital announced 20-year partnership for innovative solutions
Ryerson University and St. Michael’s hospital are formally launching a 20-year partnership to research and develop innovative health-care solutions, and support startup biomedical companies seeking to improve patient care
A 22,000 square foot lab called iBEST(the Institute for Biomedical Engineering, Science and Technology) will house Ryerson University researchers, while Ryerson’s healthtech incubator, called the BioMedical Zone (BMZ), will house startups directly adjacent to iBEST. Startups working out of the BMZ will work in the software, information technology, wearables, sensors, and medical devices sectors, and will under the same model as the DMZ.
“St. Michael’s Hospital and Ryerson University are downtown neighbours with long-standing connections, including internships and other educational opportunities,” says Dr. Arthur Slutsky, vice president of research at St. Michael’s hospital. “These new projects build on that relationship, bringing together Ryerson’s engineering and science strengths with St. Michael’s research and clinical expertise.”
Both spaces will be perched atop the hospital's Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Science, and the open-concept space is meant to facilitate brainstorming and idea-sharing across varying industries.
The Biomedical Zone provides a combination of business and clinical development and support. Some of the current ventures already in the Biomedical Zone include companies exploring assistive devices for the mobility impaired and improved sanitization for portable healthcare electronics.
“It’s patients who will benefit most from the new partnerships at a time when medicine and technology are both advancing rapidly. Working together, iBEST’s biomedical researchers, clinicians and engineers will come up with new approaches to solving problems and take these discoveries to the patient bedside for evaluation,” says Dr. Slutsky. “The Biomedical Zone is an incubator that will support entrepreneurs, students, clinicians and other innovative thinkers as they develop cutting-edge technology and other products to address today’s global health-care challenges.”