A research competition named Angels Den at St. Michael’s Hospital is accepting proposals for enhancing the healthcare system through new artificial intelligence tools and innovative medical devices.
The 11th edition of Angels Den will occur at Koerner Hall on Wednesday, where scientists will compete for prizes that can make a significant impact on people’s lives.
The competition involves six teams from St. Michael’s Hospital presenting their groundbreaking research concepts to judges, jurors, and over 1,000 attendees. Each team has a brief time to pitch their ideas, contending for $700,000 in prizes for research funding and $300,000 in grants.
Organized by St. Michael’s Hospital Foundation, the event will feature pitches such as a device that swiftly clears blocked dialysis catheters to avoid risky surgeries and physician-paramedic teams providing emergency care to trauma patients at the accident scene.
Dr. Hagar Labouta, a nanomedicine researcher at St. Michael’s Hospital, is among the six finalists of this year’s competition. She introduced a targeted drug delivery system in her pitch that can treat pregnant women while safeguarding their babies.
Labouta highlighted that a significant challenge is the uncertainty surrounding the safety of medications for unborn babies, as most pregnant women take medication with potential risks. To address this, Labouta and her colleague, Luis Pérez Dávalos, are developing an innovative drug delivery system that administers treatment solely to the mother, ensuring the baby is shielded from any unknown side effects.
Dr. Ori Rotstein, the vice president of research and innovation at St. Michael’s Hospital, emphasized the enduring impact of the competition over the past decade, with over $7 million awarded to medical research, support for 86 research projects transitioning to patient care, and the creation of 34 medical devices and 10 spin-off companies.
Dr. Christopher Witiw, a neurosurgeon, and Dr. Alun Ackery, an emergency physician at St. Michael’s Hospital, were the previous year’s Angels Den champions. They devised an AI surgical consult to swiftly identify traumatic brain injury patients requiring surgery, which has been highly successful.
Following their win, the team is gearing up to launch a pilot program across 12 hospitals in Ontario to validate the platform in real-world settings and expand collaborations globally.
The victors of this year’s Angels Den competition will be announced on Wednesday.