All posts tagged: hacking health

The Waterloo Region’s Connector

In Canada, Kitchener-Waterloo is often described as the Silicon Valley of the North as an incubator for technology. Despite the accolades, we operate within a fragmented health tech siloed ecosystem. Waterloo Region has many incredible incubators, entrepreneurs, research bodies, and healthcare systems. Yet, inefficient communication leads to duplication and missed opportunities for growth.

Our vision for Hacking Health Waterloo is to be the recognized connector for health tech innovation and improvement in the Region. We facilitate or enable conversations. We endeavour to create a bridge and conduit for more than 1,000 members to seek help and explore the unmet needs in health.

Our vision is to be the recognized connector for health tech innovation and improvement in the Region.

 

Kitchener-Waterloo is bustling with health tech-related conferences and Hackathons. Through 2018, these included Hack4Health 4.0 at St Paul’s Greenhouse, Waterloo MedTech conference and an AGE-WELL workshop on technology solutions to social isolation in older adults. May’s True North conference at Lot42 attracted more than 2,000 delegates considering Tech for good. Transformative innovation starts by connecting technology creators, healthcare professionals, and health consumers across the Waterloo Wellington Local Health Integration Network (WWLHIN).

Acting as a regional connector extends behind the geographic boundaries to plug the local community into the broader Ontario and Canadian health tech ecosystem. To that end, the Hacking Health Waterloo members have participated in the Hacking Health Ottawa HIP613, Hacking Health Toronto Ideathon, and new Hacking Health YGK chapter (Kingston, ON).

We can learn from each other through the Hacking Health network.

We have work ahead of us to engage more clinicians and engage patients to collaborate on realistic, human-centric solutions to front-line problems. We can learn from each other through the Hacking Health network. There are few situations that one of the other chapters have not previously encountered.

It has never been easier to start a business says HubSpot, while at the same time acknowledging that scaling a business is becoming harder than ever. Anthony Lacereva notes that Canada is possibly the best place to start a business and the hardest place to grow one. An exemplary illustration is the HHOttawa HIP613.

In 2019, Hacking Health Waterloo has collaborated with the Regional Innovation Centre, Communitech, for a hackathon in conjunction with True North. This event has engaged local health players while inviting partners from across Ontario. The theme was focused on Aging, Social Isolation, and Health. More details about this dual-city hackathon will be shared in a future post.

Our hackathons, therefore, must not just create the best ideas but provide a journey to scale profitable growth.

 

—–

About the author: John Gregory is Partner Lead of the Hacking Health Waterloo chapter and Head of Global Growth at the Hacking Health Foundation.

Follow John on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Delphine DavanThe Waterloo Region’s Connector
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Hacking Health Hackathon, by Besançon (France)

—– Retrouvez l’article original en français —–

On October 2018, the Hacking Health chapter of Besançon organized its second health hackathon (open innovation marathon). This event confirmed the enthusiasm raised by the first edition, and highlighted three strong trends:

A vast majority of students participated in the marathon: 75% of the 309 participants came from the local university or the “grandes écoles” (renowned engineer and business schools). This massive mobilization of students generates extraordinary energy, creativity, and generosity.

– The expertise of the local ecosystem is well represented: Microtechnology and miniaturization, a specialty inherited from the watch industry of which Besançon is a leader. Thus, many highly skilled engineers have joined teams composed of digital developers, electronic specialists, and designers.

– An important fablab (Fabrication Laboratory) gathering all the material and human resources of two fablabs and two engineering schools allowed to prototype operational devices in less than 48 hours.

extraordinary energy, creativity, and generosity

In this context, all the 24 health professionals and patients who came to pitch their issue have found a team. No team gave up during the weekend, and the quality of the solutions was terrific. This may explain that, two months after the marathon, two project holders are about to create their startup. Since this cannot be done overnight, we created a 3-month incubator program after the hackathon to assist teams in the maturation of their projects and help them connect with the right partners.

Another novelty in 2018: the creation of a showroom, in parallel with the innovation marathon. Seventeen French and Swiss Hacking Health project leaders came to present their innovation to the public, share their experience, and expand their network.

Join the 2019 hackathon in Besançon

– Or find the nearest Hacking Health event

Would you like to participate in the 3rd Open Innovation Marathon of Health in Besançon? Would you enjoy prototyping solutions to respond to real problems posed by health professionals and patients? What about an exciting and entertaining weekend based on cooperation and exchange?

Join the Hacking Health hackathon in Besançon from 18 to 20 October 2019 and imagine tomorrow’s healthcare solutions!

———- Author: Christophe Dollet, Leader of the Hacking Health chapiter in Besançon and Coordinator of France-based chapters. Christophe works at Smart City, a project of the city of Besançon.

Watch this video to get a feeling of the 2018 hackathon in Besançon.

 

 

Delphine DavanHacking Health Hackathon, by Besançon (France)
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The Volunteer Factor

I joined the Hacking Health Ottawa (HHO) chapter in August 2016. I was working in health at the time and looking for new ways to bring together diverse stakeholders. I came across a post on Twitter about this thing called a Hackathon, and it was focused on health. I reached out to learn more and was invited to the chapter team meeting and a smaller event they had coming up. It was a great way to learn about Hacking Health, the people who make it all happen, and the work they do.

I came across a post on Twitter // I reached out to learn more

Throughout those first few weeks, I met students and professionals of all ages working in health, design, engineering, business, and government. The diversity of event participants was reflected in the make-up of the HHO team. The quality of speakers, engagement of participants and dedication of the chapter’s volunteers was inspiring. I still didn’t really understand what a developer did or how ‘ideation’ was different from ‘brainstorming,’ but it didn’t matter.

This was a learning journey, and it culminated in a three-day event each year called a hackathon, where a DJ is a must, energy is contagious, and people don’t want to leave (seriously…we had to kick people out at the end of each day).

There is always a moment during our events where someone realizes HHO is 100% powered by volunteers.

There is always a moment during our events where someone realizes HHO is 100% powered by volunteers. Even though we thank and recognize our volunteers at the beginning and end of every event, it can often take folks a few events for it to really sink in. Their eyes light up, and they can’t believe it. You do all this in your spare time the say. Yes, we do. We work with amazing, dedicated people who show up, roll up their sleeves and make the impossible possible year over year. I can’t thank our team of volunteers enough for their generosity and commitment to HHO.

As a volunteer myself, I have gained so much more than I have given. I have learned new skills, expanded my professional network, met so many talented people and been inspired by their stories of success and failure.

Never underestimate The Volunteer Factor. It lifts us up each and every day.

My learning journey continues, and I am grateful for all those who have and continue to make HHO a reality. The volunteers, the community, the health care partners and the sponsors. Thank you.

—-

Karine Dietrich is Partnership & Sponsorship Lead at the Ottawa Hacking Health chapter. She’s also Vice-President, Public Engagement and Knowledge Mobilization at Volunteer Canada, and owns a B.A. in Criminology with a concentration in law from the Carlton University.

 

Delphine DavanThe Volunteer Factor
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Le Coopérathon Revient Cet Automne / Cooperathon Comes Back This Fall

Lisez le billet en français ici: https://hacking-health.org/fr/cooperathon2019

The largest international open innovation competition in the world comes back this fall. For the fourth year in a row, Hacking Health is the partner of the health track which gives us the title of historical partner!

Volunteers from Hacking Health chapters in Montreal, Quebec City, Toronto, and Waterloo* are ready to support you during this human and entrepreneurial adventure with the goal to have an impact on healthcare.

Join doctors, nurses, healthcare professionals, patients, entrepreneurs, investors, startups, and experts from diverse industries and become a change agent.

 

An entrepreneurial adventure for all

Whether you have an idea, identified a problem or simply want to change the world, you can join the competition. Throughout the month of October, workshops are organized in each of the participating cities to:

  1. Build teams,
  2. Identify root causes of the problem to be solved,
  3. Design the business model,
  4. Create a prototype,
  5. Learn how to pitch your project to a panel of experts.

The semi-final is held on November 2nd in each city to identify the best impact projects before the grand finale in Montreal on November 20th.

All winners!

Among all former participants, some have won prizes but all have acquired new skills, developed their network, discovered new horizons and above all … lived a tremendous human adventure. Whatever your expertise, your industry, whether you have a project idea or just want to contribute, you can make an impact.

Registrations are now open. Join us!

An incredible match. The story of “I Seek Delirium”.

Tania (nurse at the Montreal Heart Institute) and Nicolas (entrepreneur, founder of NeuroServo) did not know each other. They I Seek Delirium - Le projet gagnant du Coopérathon 2018met during the pitch & networking meetup where teams are built around each project. As Nicolas says in the video below: “it clicked immediately and we decided to work together”.The potential of their collaboration was obvious.

Winner of the health track in Canada, “I seek delirium” has been integrated within NeuroServo and continues its development with the Montreal Heart Institute. The company and the diagnostic tool presented at Cooperathon 2018 have been the subject of an article in Fierce Biotech, a reference in the health industry.

Check out the projects from previous editions in this post.

Watch this video to get an overview of the competition and projects presented in 2018

 

* Some chapters in France may also join the competition.

 

Delphine DavanLe Coopérathon Revient Cet Automne / Cooperathon Comes Back This Fall
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#HIP613 Dual City Hackathon | HH Ottawa

The #HIP613 hackathon brings together patients, healthcare professionals, physicians, technologists, designers, entrepreneurs, decision-makers, business leaders, researchers, administrators, and governments to collaboratively break down barriers to innovation in healthcare. If you aspire to help transform the access and delivery to healthcare for the better, join us! If not you, who?

Our 2019 Judging Panel

Mari Teitelbaum, B.Sc.H MHA, Vice President of Provincial Programs and Chief Innovation Officer, CHEO

Her unique background and her passion for applying technology to improve health care systems make her an asset to CHEO’s team.

Mari started her career as an electrical engineer, where she recognized the value of technology to enable efficiency and effectiveness. After ten years in the high tech industry, she decided to go back to school and get her Masters of Health Administration at the University of Ottawa. As the daughter of a CHEO physician and a mother herself, she passionately believed that she could use her technology skills to help clinicians care for kids in this community.

 

Heidi Sveistrup, CEO and Chief Scientific Officer of the Bruyère Research Institute and VP, Research and Academic Affairs

Heidi is an active investigator at BRI whose research focus is in stroke rehabilitation and the use of technologies to support wellness, engagement and long life. She is also the academic lead for the Bruyère Centre for Learning, Research and Innovation in Long-Term Care (CLRI).

 

 

Kevin Grignon, Design Lead for IBM Business Analytics, and Director of IBM Studios Ottawa

Kevin is a designer with over 20 years of experience designing and delivering software and service experiences. Kevin has led design organizations to deliver simple, elegant, and compelling product experiences to market for clients including Coca-Cola, Bank of China, Huawei, Corel, Nortel Networks and others.

Timon LeDain, Director of Emerging Technologies, Macadamian Technologies

Timon is the Director of Macadamian’s growing business in connected health and the Medical Internet of Things (MIoT). Responsible for Macadamian’s IP strategy, partnerships, and emerging technology development initiatives, his areas of focus include healthcare, voice experiences, and consumer products.

 

 

Prizes

This year’s 2019 hackathon features the following prizes:

    • Win an opportunity to pitch your solution directly to the Innovation decision-makers at the Bruyere Hospital. In return, they will provide your team with advice, feedback, and potential for piloting within the hospital. Sponsored by Bruyère Hospital.
    • Win an opportunity to pitch your solution directly to the Innovation decision-makers at CHEO. In return, they will provide your team with advice, feedback, and potential for piloting within the hospital. Sponsored by CHEO.
    • Two teams will be awarded travel and accommodation for two participants to pitch at the June 18 Hackathon Finale Showcase in Kitchener. Sponsored by AGE-WELL.
    • Up to $10,000 in student and faculty support to assist a project that addresses technology related to aging. Sponsored by the Garbarino Girard Centre for Innovation in Seniors Care at Algonquin College.
    • Three 1/2 day studio sessions with the team at IBM Studios Ottawa to help the winning team bring their concept from napkin sketch to market ready. Prize winners will get access to IBM Studios designers for guidance on research methods, user experience design, user interface design, design systems, and user testing. Sponsored by IBM Ottawa.
Hacking Health Ottawa#HIP613 Dual City Hackathon | HH Ottawa
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True North Hackathon | HH Waterloo

We invite healthcare professionals, designers, patients, developers, innovators, students and entrepreneurs to take part in building useable solutions to frontline healthcare problems. Join us Friday, May 31 to Sunday, June 02 for Hacking Health Waterloo’s Hackathon in conjunction with True North taking place at Kitchener City Hall.

Register officially here

Why participate in the Hacking Health Hackathon and what to expect…

Our hackathons are a fun, hands-on, intense, 3-day hackathon that breaks down barriers to healthcare innovation in Kitchener-Waterloo. Our goal isn’t just to organize hackathons, it’s to have a long-term impact on our healthcare system. This hackathon in conjunction with True North will take place simultaneously in Ottawa and Kitchener-Waterloo. We can’t wait to see you contribute to a hackathon project that can be brought to market for the benefit of communities everywhere – we have the resources to help you get there!

At the hackathon, teams will pitch ideas, get advice from experts and build solutions that can be integrated and implemented into our healthcare system. We are excited to see the projects you’re dreaming up come to life!

The rules of the hackathon are available here that we encourage you to read. 

Hackathon Schedule

True North Hackathon, Hacking Health, Social Isolation, Ottawa, Waterloo

Friday, May 31

5:00 – 6:00 PM Registration Opens, Food & Networking

6:00 – 7:00 PM Local speakers with mentors table available

7:00 – 7:15 PM Opening Ceremony

7:15 – 8:00 PM Pitch Clinic

8:00 – 8:30 PM 1-minute pitches

8:30 – 10:00 PM Team Formation & Networking

10:00 PM End of Day 1

Saturday, Jun 01

8:00 AM Breakfast

9:00 AM Hacking Starts

12:00 PM Lunch & Judging Criteria Presentation

1:00 PM Hacking

5:00 PM Dinner

9:00 PM End of Day 2

Sunday, June 02

8:00 AM Breakfast

9:00 AM Hacking

10:00 AM Pitch Clinic

12:00 PM Lunch

12:30 PM Hacking Ends

1:00 PM Final Pitching to Judges

2:00 PM Judges Deliberate

2:30 PM Announcement of Hackathon Winners

2:45 PM Closing Remarks

2019 Theme

Social Isolation, Aging, and Technology is our theme for this dual-city hackathon. Social isolation affects many people, particularly the aged, and links with the Tech for good theme for the True North conference. The hackathon aim is to break down barriers to healthcare innovation by bringing together healthcare professionals, IT, designers, policy analysts, students, patients and entrepreneurs to collaborate, dream up & create solutions to real-world problems to improve healthcare. Read about the basics of Social Isolation here. These basics will help you frame the inspiration for your project.

What is Hacking Health?

Hacking Health is an international movement designed to improve healthcare by inviting technology creators and healthcare professionals to collaborate on realistic, human-centric solutions to front-line problems. It is a grass-roots, bottom-up movement. Learn more about Hacking Health.

Who can participate?

Anyone – you don’t have to be a developer to participate!

What if I don’t have a team?

There are many opportunities to meet potential team members, and connect a mix of skills to bring together a team in the first couple hours of the hackathon weekend.

Can I start before the event?

We understand that you are excited to solve problems but please refrain from developing the solution before the Hackathon. Feel free to ideate, design, post, update, review, join a project on Sparkboard once you’ve registered!

Are you interested in sponsoring our hackathon?

Hacking Health Waterloo is powered by an incredible group of sponsors. We’d love to have you join us! Take a look at our sponsorship package if you are interested in sponsoring our hackathon.

Will food and drinks be provided?

Breakfasts and lunches will be catered for you this weekend, together with a food truck on Friday evening. Bring a refillable water bottle. If you have any dietary restrictions, please let us know: waterloo@hackinghealth.ca

What should I bring?

Your laptop, charger, your ideas and a refillable water bottle.

Be sure to register officially here

Hacking Health TorontoTrue North Hackathon | HH Waterloo
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Our Volunteers Break Silos And Borders

Hacking Health Windsor-Detroit is the first cross-border Hacking Health chapter in the world. It brings together two cities, which comprise a world-class automotive cluster that is reinventing itself as a global leader in health and mobility.

The 100-year-old Ambassador Bridge is iconic of this chapter’s determination to reach across divides and bring creative people together from the tech, health and automotive sectors to collaborate on innovative solutions to healthcare challenges on both sides of the Detroit River.

 

This chapter fosters innovation across the Canadian-US border

Now entering its fifth year – Hacking Health Windsor-Detroit has drawn over 1,000 participants, connected over 60 partner organizations, sparked a half-dozen start-up companies (CarePRN is one of them) and inspired a cross-border MedHealth Summit that annually matches health start-ups with investors .

There is also Kaitlyn Sheehan—a Registered Nurse— who had an idea for a mobile app that could improve health care on both sides of the Detroit-Windsor border. Read her fabulous story here and how she won a hackathon top award for mobile app design in this previous post.

Gathering automotive & healthcare sectors in the same place?

From left to right: Deborah Livneh, Zain Ismail and Yvonne Pilon, members of the HHWD chapter

After the lights dimmed on a successful MedHealth Summit in downtown Detroit in early 2018, one that featured an electric keynote by celebrated neuropathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu featured in the movie Concussion, the organizers gathered in a boardroom at the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy at Wayne State University.  Many of those gathered had been founders and leaders from Hacking Health Windsor-Detroit – which provided the spark for the Medhealth Summit.

In part, the organizers wanted to debrief on such a successful meeting and chart potential destinations for Medhealth in 2019.  This meeting raised the potential of bringing talent from the automotive and health-care sectors together.

A year later, we are happy to report that Hacking Health Windsor-Detroit IV will explore the theme of mobility in the fall. The potential for creative engineers and programmers from General Motors and Google and Lyft to talk healthcare is exciting.

 

 

In the video below, Robert C. Brooks, III – a hackathon participant, talks about what the automotive industry can bring to healthcare:

Our Movement Builds Ecosystems of Innovation

At the Medhealth Summit debrief,  Stephen Konya, a Senior Innovation Strategist from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT with the United States Department of Health and Human Services, was invited to lead a discussion. He is exploring the growing network of health-related cluster initiatives across the United States – a cluster of clusters – and the opportunity to integrate the MedHealth Summit.

And that is the genius of Hacking Health – connecting thought leaders from health and tech regionally, opening up promising collaboration between previously sequestered sectors and looking beyond the horizon to connect creative problem solvers globally. That’s Hacking Health’s approach.

 

That’s the magic of a grass-roots movement

Want to support our movement? Join/build your local chapter or make a donation!

 

Original text from Dr. Irek Kusmierczyk,

City Councillor for Ward 7 in the City of Windsor

Director of Partnerships at WEtech Alliance

Leader of the Hacking Health Windsor-Detroit Chapter

LinkedInTwitterWeb

 

Delphine DavanOur Volunteers Break Silos And Borders
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HHCAFÉ COM PANETONE GTShriners

Último encontro presencial de 2019 dos voluntários do grupo de trabalho que está desenvolvendo os protótipos de triagem e atendimento das crianças em SC.
Lembretes:
– levar notebook (se possível)
– validar usuário e senha de acesso à comunidade

Hacking Health BrasilHHCAFÉ COM PANETONE GTShriners
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Prevention, Rehabilitation & Recovery in Healthcare Hackathon

Hacking Prevention, Rehab and Recovery in healthcare.

Sign up to the HH Liverpool Spark Board to pitch your healthcare challenge for this years’ hackathon.

No challenges springing to mind? No problem. Check out what challenges are already up on the Spark Board and join a team, your skills are invaluable.

The hackathon starts at 8:30am Saturday 3rd of March and once we’ve finished hearing about all the challenges, we’ll form teams and get hacking. Sunday 4th March, it’s tools down by 12:30pm ready for presentations to the judging panel.

Lunch, dinner and refreshments will be provided, so bring your laptop, your energy and your commitment to innovating healthcare through tech!

Hacking Health LiverpoolPrevention, Rehabilitation & Recovery in Healthcare Hackathon
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