2017

Hacking Health Hamilton Nov. Meetup: Big Image Data and Health Data


Hacking Health Hamilton Nov. Meetup: Big Image Data and Health Data


This month, We are hosting a fantastic MeetUp at CoMotion On King in Hamilton. CoMotion On King is a new coworking initiative and Hamilton’s largest coworking space in the heart of downtown. Now we have a chance to get inside and enjoy their hospitality.

We have three awesome groups presenting this meetup:

Professor H.R.Tizhoosh is the director of KIMIA Lab. He has been researching in the fields of machine intelligence, medical imaging and computer vision since 1995.
Prof. Tizhoosh will present “Big Image Data: Tagging for Recognition”. It deals with how to identify histopathology images when we are searching in large archives of gigapixel scan.

Eric is the Director of Software Development at DF/Net Software. In addition to clinical trials data management, Eric’s primary interests are in application programming and human/computer interaction.

Yiguo is a student of McMaster’s eHealth MSc program in Computer Science stream. Currently, Joshua (another eHealth student) and Yiguo are developing a mobile solution for clinical trials data management in DF/Net Software.

Through our lens of DF/Net Software, we have the first-hand experience with clinical trials data collection for over 25 years. This presentation will reflect upon the key challenges of clinical trials data management and the intersection of software solutions.

Arinai Inc. Team:

Mohamed Ibrahim is a software architect and a full-stack developer with 10 years of experience designing and building enterprise level software in eHealth. He has comprehensive experience with startups, small-to-medium enterprise, and governments of different countries.

Nadia Ashoori is a Master of Science eHealth candidate at McMaster University. Nadia is a business development professional and marketing wiz with several years of experience in a variety of sectors, especially in the health sector.

Robert Zeni is a full-stack Software Developer with 5 years of experience in designing and building scalable enterprise level solutions in the mHealth and eHealth space. These experiences also encompass working on projects with organizations such as eHealth Ontario, MOHLTC and McMaster University.

They will present Restoring independence to patients and improving quality of care with Arinai.

Hacking Health HamiltonHacking Health Hamilton Nov. Meetup: Big Image Data and Health Data
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Dutch Hacking Health

TAKING ACTION AROUND THE WORLD

Dutch Hacking Health

TAKING THE WHOLE NATION BY STORM

One nation united to innovate healthcare.

Dutch Hacking Health
“Every person in the Netherlands needs healthcare somewhere in their life. You can change the way we deliver this care during Dutch Hacking Health. This is a nationwide event where people of different backgrounds come together to create new solutions for healthcare. Join Dutch Hacking Health!” Edith Schippers, Dutch Minister of Health, Welfare & Sport // Erik Gerritsen, Secretary-General of the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, with national winning team.

In 2015, the REshape Center for Innovation of Radbound University Medical Center was contemplating a hackathon to shake up their institution. Instead of going it alone in their local community, they chose to join forces with Hacking Health and play a leading role on a global scale. In 2016, with a bold vision to mobilize their whole nation around healthcare innovation, four Dutch University Medical Centers, – Leiden UMC, Maastricht UMC, UMC Groningen and Radboud UMC -, took their country by storm and created Dutch Hacking Health. For the first time ever, a ‘health hackathon’ was held in a nation-wide setting in multiple cities.

Not only is Dutch Hacking Health an enlightening example of collaboration and leadership on a broad national level, it fueled a nation’s efforts to improve healthcare.

The University Medical Centers made the Hacking Health events an official part of their innovation agenda. The chief judge on a national level was the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Health, Erik Gerritsen himself. The Dutch Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport, Edith Schippers, called on all citizens to participate and take the opportunity to change the way care is delivered in the Netherlands.

Dutch HH is an initiative of four University Medical Centers: LUMC in Leiden, Maastricht UMC, UMC Groningen and Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre. It is a real “creative pressure cooker for health!”

Affordable, good quality care is the most important thing for future generations. Innovation is key. I’m Erik Gerritsen and I’m Hacking Health. Are you?

Erik Gerritsen,
Secretary-General


400+

Participants

4

HACKATHONS

Valérie DoréDutch Hacking Health
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Innovate Healthcare Nationwide

TAKING ACTION AROUND THE WORLD

INNOVATE HEALTHCARE NATIONWIDE

Collaboration and design thinking

In May 2015 Hacking Health Milano hosted Italy’s first-ever health hackathon. Since then, it has ramped up to mobilize the whole nation using design thinking to re-invent health services.

HH Milano established a national network of engaged hospitals
HH Milano shared the process and its outcome with the public. // HH Milano established a national network of engaged hospitals

18 months later, for their second annual event, Hacking Health Milano succeeded in engaging not one, but an amazing 11 hospitals and national healthcare systems in their process. This year HH Milano decided to focus on design thinking and engage participants in a much longer challenge.

By setting up a 9-month long collaboration with leading university Milano-Bicocca, HH Milano allowed over 100 students from diverse backgrounds to gain insights into patient journeys and staff challenges.

It’s part of my job to scout for new ideas and assess their value. We’re part of a network of 29 hospitals which share innovative ideas…

Dr. Raffaele Benaglio
Innovation Officer, Home Care,
Milano Don Gnocchi Hospital


11

HOSPITALS

9

MONTHS

Valérie DoréInnovate Healthcare Nationwide
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SWISS DIGITAL HEALTH

TAKING ACTION AROUND THE WORLD

SWISS DIGITAL HEALTH®

LAUNCHING A NATIONAL HEALTH-TECH CLUSTER

Based on a background of initiating digital health projects and mobilizing regional hospitals in Valais with Hacking Health, the Ark Foundation has launched a major health-tech cluster initiative: Swiss Digital Health®.

HH WINDSOR-DETROIT
2015 winners Eyeware virtual mouse // 2016 jury’s favorite MeasureMe

Swiss Digital Health® aims to initiate and empower ambitious projects to improve global healthcare systems – with reputable Swiss solutions. The initiative begins by detecting unmet and emerging needs. The intended outcome? The successful market launch of new solutions, The initiative intends to breathe innovation into each stage of the health value chain. Through targeted Hacking Health events, innovation challenges, design workshops, special trainings, hackathons or acceleration programs, Swiss Digital Health® is backing abilities and nurturing opportunities. With Hacking Health being an integral part of the cluster, it fosters international collaborations and helps to expand the digital health business and innovation network.

Hacking Health helps us be part of a dynamic ecosystem integrating local, national and international stakeholders and to initiate ambitious projects.

Sebastien Mabillard, leader,
Swiss Digital Health


25,000

CHF 1st prize

2

Communities
French & German-speaking

Valérie DoréSWISS DIGITAL HEALTH
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eHealth Toronto & Vancouver

TAKING ACTION AROUND THE WORLD

eHealth Toronto & Vancouver

Working with National Health IT Societies

Hacking Health partnered with eHealth, Canada Health Infoway, COACH, the Canadian Institute of Health Informatics, national sponsor Desjardins Insurance and local sponsor Gevity to deliver a high impact design challenge.

Hacking Health - eHealth
160 participants, 26 projects, and a massive dose of youth and energy for the national eHealth conference. // Inspiring kick-off + 8-week duration + bi-weekly work sessions + final 3-day sprint = Spectacular demos and projects

Launched at the Center for Digital Media in Vancouver in 2016, and at the OTN day in Toronto in 2015, the Design Challenge culminated in the national eHealth conference. The competing teams showcased impressive projects and injected a massive dose of youth, energy and innovation in the conference program. The 8 week format allowed them to develop momentum and partnerships hardly possible in a traditional hackathon. Some, like iUGO Health, even went on to become highly successful digital health startups.

Hacking Health is doing great things across the country. We thought: Let’s join forces and go further together!

Glenn Lanteigne,
Board Director, COACH: Canada’s Health Informatics Association


1,500+

Delegates

8

Weeks

Valérie DoréeHealth Toronto & Vancouver
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Hacking Health Camp

TAKING ACTION AROUND THE WORLD

Hacking Health Camp

INSPIRE. LEARN. ACT. ACROSS EUROPE

A 4-day international event and the largest European healthcare hackathon, Hacking Health Camp aims to inspire participants with world-class speakers, train them with 30 sessions, and give them a chance to act right away.

Inspiring conferences on the future of health followed by pitches from European health startups. // Training workshops on new health technologies, legal aspects, design, for everyone! // A weekend-long hackathon to build prototypes

Each day is designed to inspire health professionals, designers, hackers, makers and entrepreneurs, with the event culminating in the hackathon to allow them to collaborate. It’s an event for anyone interested in health innovation as it rallies health and tech professionals around their common interests, helping them discover amazing possibilities for tomorrow’s health.

Hacking Health Camp attracts some of the most brilliant minds who share their views on the future of healthcare, teach everything there is to know about health data, pitch great startups, and build new solutions onsite, in 54 hours.

We all regret we were not in Steve Jobs’ garage in the 80’s, but in 30 years, you will be able to say that you were here in Strasbourg, today…

Uwe Diegel, iHealth President


800

Attendees

55

Projects

Valérie DoréHacking Health Camp
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Hacking Health at HIC

TAKING ACTION AROUND THE WORLD

Hacking Health at HIC

FROM TALKING TO ACTING

The Health Informatic Society of Australia (HISA) and its leaders share a common passion for health reform enabled by health informatics and digital health. They continuously look for new ways to shape a bright future for their country, and to play a leadership role nationwide. HISA visionary CEO, Dr. Louise Schaper, and her team are literally on a mission to fix healthcare.

From left to right: HISA CEO Dr. Louise Schaper, HISA BizDev Greg Moran, HH Ambassador Dr. Grace Lai, Philip Dalidakis, Victoria’s Minister for Small Business, Innovation & Trade, share the Hacking Health passion with the fellow HH@ HIC16 participants

HISA made Hacking Health part of their mission, working together to make their effort resonate around the world, truly building a global movement. It made Hacking Health a key part of its annual national Health Informatics Conference (HIC), rejuvenating this major event with a new level of energy, enabling its community to take concrete action to make a difference for healthcare in Australia… and plant the seed for some fascinating new ventures.

“The uniqueness of Hacking Health is that it’s all about connecting innovators with the people who have been doing health for decades. It’s high energy. It’s messy… but remarkable.”

The good stuff that happens when you show up”

Dr. Louise Schaper, CEO, HISA


119

Participants

1,000

Delegates

Valérie DoréHacking Health at HIC
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Hacking Health welcomes Joule as National Medical Partner for Innovation

Joule, the Canadian Medical Association’s (CMA) newest company, has officially become Hacking Health’s National Medical Partner, providing the tools and resources for Canada’s physicians to develop innovation that will help shape the country’s healthcare system and improve patient outcomes.
Serving the CMA’s more than 86,000 members, Joule is a catalyst for physician-led innovation.
“Hacking Health provides our country’s innovators with crucial resources to develop patient-centred solutions that can make a real difference in health care and this is exactly what Joule is all about, explains Joule CEO Lindee David. We are confident that this collaboration will benefit CMA members who are seeking those types of resources.”
“This partnership is a win-win for both parties involved,” explains Luc Sirois, co-founder of Hacking Health. “In working with Joule, we will continue to bring the world’s foremost innovators together to develop creative and collaborative solutions to a number of health issues here in Canada.”
In spring 2017, Joule teamed up with Hacking Health for events in Halifax and Ottawa and will actively take part in Montreal, Quebec City, Prince George and Toronto this coming Fall.
For more information on this partnership, please watch this video. For more information about Joule please visit joule.cma.ca.

HACKING HEALTH’S NATIONAL SPONSORS IN CANADA

GOLD

Desjardins

Joule

SILVER

Merck

Fasken

BRONZE

FrancisHacking Health welcomes Joule as National Medical Partner for Innovation
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The Hacking Health Ottawa Hackathon

Written by Hacking Health Ottawa Volunteer Kevin Dick who joined a team and jumped into the trenches to give us a recap of his weekend. Originally published on HHOttawa’s blog on Medium.

The long anticipated Hacking Health Hackathon, hosted by Shopify, came and went in a blur. In the short two and a half days, ideas were pitched, expertise was shared, and prototypes developed with the common goal of improving the healthcare system.

In broad strokes, Friday brought together physicians, developers, politicians, and members of the health community from as far away as California to set the scene, with none other than Cofounder of the Hacking Health movement, Luc Sirois hyping up the participants in anticipation of (and throughout) the weekend. Saturday was an event-filled day with participants arriving at 8 a.m. and hacking well into the night. Sunday was a frenzy to bring projects to a close and judging of the final pitched ideas, each team vying for the prizes that could bring their prototype to the next level! From end-to-end, it was a resounding success full of camaraderie and competition, energy and euphoria, and of course: hacking and health!

Friday: The Official Kickoff!

With the close of business hours, most of Ottawa was eagerly anticipating the promised sunshine of the weekend. A different energy was stirring at 150 Elgin, home of Shopify and temporary home and workspace of over 150 hacking health participants through the highly anticipated Hacking Health Hackathon! A steady stream of physicians, developers, engineers, designers, politicians, media, and health enthusiast converged into the large bright space. As they mixed in together, some were reminiscing on the string of events leading up to this moment, others actively networking with one another and eager to learn what was in store for the next few days.

The event began with a number of prominent speakers addressing the assembly of participants. Most notably, Haidee Thanda, the Chapter Leader of Hacking Health Ottawa welcomed us and described the journey that had led to this point. The highly enthusiastic Global Hacking Health Cofounder, Luc Sirois, took the stage and operated as both Master of Ceremonies and hype man, drawing out the enthusiasm of the crowd. He explained how these types of events would come to define our moment in history and be part of the stories passed onto the next generations. Describing how in Canada, we are an example for healthcare around the world, Mr. Sirois emphasized that this success is the result of constant innovation and urged us all to continually push that cutting-edge fringe of healthcare technology forward. He explained that this is why Hackathons are so crucial:

“We cannot invent without learning!”

In bringing together experts from multiple disciplines, teams can share in unique perspectives and increased breadth and depth of knowledge. Mr. Sirois described how innovation in healthcare is necessary for the transformation of the institution; ensuring that is a dynamically growing entity.

This idea was then built upon by the next speaker, Alex Munter, the CEO and President of the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario and Ottawa Children’s Treatment Centre (CHEO-OCTC). He first described the history of CHEO-OCTC, explaining that there was significant resistance to establishing the institution with many claiming that Canadian healthcare was not sustainable.

“That would be true if your definition of ‘Sustainable” is ‘doing the same thing every year’!”

Mr. Munter explains that through the years, numerous allegations have been politically argued about the sustainability of the healthcare system and that the continual research and innovation has evolved the institution such that processes become more efficient. Ultimately, he states:

“Innovation is what drives the sustainability!”

Without innovation, the healthcare system would be in trouble and he therefore urged us all to pursue our passion to contribute to the health system. Concluding, he described his high expectations for the generation of millennials that will drive research and wished everyone good luck and that they enjoy themselves through the weekend.

Steven MacKinnon, the Member of Parliament for Gatineau then took the stage, offering the Federal perspective of innovation in healthcare. Explaining that healthcare consumes 40–50% of provincial budgets (outpacing inflation!) it is necessary that technology help produce increasingly efficient systems. He notes that the federal government recognizes this trend and that many efforts have been put forward to break down the barriers to information by opening access of data to the public.

Finally, Randy McCaig, Director of the Ottawa Desjardins Office and member of the Business Development team, congratulated us all for “being a little bit crazy!” Having experience in bringing successful hackathon projects to market, he commended all participants on their willingness to promote change in healthcare.

With that, the pitches started!

With about 25 different projects outlined on the Hacking Heath Sparkboard, each project lead had 60 seconds to pitch their idea with the intention of recruiting participants with the right skill-set. In a quick-fire manner, each idea was rapidly pitched in succession of the next. About halfway though, to keep energy high, we were all guided into a stretching routine and mandatory “Go Sens Go” chant while performing the wave.

With the final idea pitched, then came ‘The Match’, where participants ebbed and flowed throughout the room to pick the idea that they wished to commit to during the weekend. With clusters formed, each team found a secluded space to share in introductions and settle into deeper discussions of the problem faced and the approaches to resolve it.

Having been a part of the Sleep Apnea project leading up to the hackathon, I was one of twelve members committed to the project. Interestingly, team sizes varied from the very small (2–3 members) to the very large (8–12 members) with most fitting somewhere in the middle. Our team also appeared to comprise a disproportionately high number of machine learning aficionados. Certainly the skill-set within a team would help provide some context to the proposed solution; a particular challenge we faced was breaking out of our comfort zone and considering the problem from unique perspectives.

After several hours of discussion, we began converging on a weekend strategy and anticipated reuniting in the morning to begin bringing the pieces together! The teams slowly dissipated with an eagerness to tackle the problem in the morning!

Saturday: Hacking Commences!

Arriving as early as 8 a.m. and staying on well into the night (~11 p.m. kick out), Saturday was buzzing with energy. From dawn until dusk, it was somewhat magical to see ideas emerging as tangible prototypes in so short a time. With teams interspersed among one another, there was a congenial, yet competitive atmosphere. A broad range of mentors and experts were available for consulting on various aspects. From data visualization, to 3D printing services, to business model development, to sensor integration; there was help for any facets to each unique project!

Our team convened bright and early, and we rapidly brainstormed and refined a number of aspects of our proposed solution. The central problem we were addressing was the lack of information to support the diagnosis of a child’s sleep apnea, and current waitlists for a sleep study (which are often ineffective) can be upwards of two years. Our project leader, Dr. Matthew Bromwich, was eager to address any and all questions. Having a large team, we opted for a three-part solution:

· Engage: Parents suspecting that their child might have sleep apnea often come unprepared to consultancies with specialists. There are no resources for a concerned parent to consult which outline the various steps of information gathering about their child’s sleeping behaviours. In order to promote parent engagement, we decided to create a website (www.whatsapnea.com) which would outline the information a parent should bring to a consultation to facilitate the diagnosis of their child.

· Capture: Video footage of Sleep Apnea events make compelling evidence for diagnosis. We decided to create a sleep apnea video capture app to standardize the data collection process to amass evidence about a child’s sleeping behaviours. With a long-term goal of generating a night-long analysis system, the WhatsApnea app would allow parents to regularly collect video footage to help a physician with their diagnosis.

· Analyze: Using facial skin tone, we can extract heart rate from a patient in a contactless way. As part of the data analysis team, I sought to extract physiological information from patient videos to determine if we could detect sleep apnea events without the use of complex medical equipment. This machine learning layer would add significant value to the process of sleep apnea diagnosis as sleep apnea events could be automatically detected and provide a preliminary assessment to physicians.

As a biomedical engineering Master’s candidate with a passion for problem-solving, I reveled in the opportunity to engage with a physician on the front-lines of these medical system challenges. This is an opportunity rarely seen outside of a hackathon framework.

The Engage sub-team extensively used the IBM Design Mentors (Yasmine Taha and Peter Djeneralovic) to develop Empathy Maps and build a story around a proposed patient. This helped narrow down the scope of the problem to tangible targets. In general, whenever someone faced a particular roadblock, other team members were eager to find a way to circumvent it or mentors were available to provide expertise.

Ottawa’s own prototypeD experts were in-house offering a range of consultancy services including 3D printing and data visualization. My own work with the Analyze team necessitated the visualization of data streams in an interactive and dynamic manner. Janak Alford, Founder and CEO of prototypeD, helped me identify a number of packages to achieve what I envisioned.

This fully supportive and highly engaging atmosphere truly fostered individual and team creativity in the pursuit of healthcare solutions! To promote a healthy work environment, yoga sessions were also offered to help relieve tension and to reinvigorate the body after long periods in front of a computer.

Teams worked on late into the evening until the 10:30 p.m. kick out. Undoubtedly a number of teams would have carried on further into the early hours of the morning if they had the opportunity. For some that momentum transferred spatially from Shopify to their homes while others, temporally, from night to Sunday morning…

 

Sunday: Judgment Day!

The last day of the hackathon could be characterized by an altogether new flavor of anticipation: one that is sprinkled with anxiety and frenzy. The 3PM deadline was on everyone’s mind. Our team rapidly realized the importance of putting together a compelling presentation and we rapidly shifted gears from prototype development to pitch-craft!

With a developer-heavy composition, our team lacked expertise in business model development. A panel of business-oriented mentors was available to help identify the value proposition to our three-part solution. Having scheduled one of the last appointments with them, this panel was a prized commodity in the frenzy of Pitch day.

How do you boil down the breadth of a problem and solution into a relatable, compelling, and investable presentation of a mere 180 seconds? We iterated our presentation over and over again until we converged on what we deemed the right flow. As one of the speakers, I was afforded a 20–30 second slot to convey the intricacies of our data analysis solution in a couple of sentences. One rapidly realizes that technical jargon must immediately be replaced with high-level concepts.

As the hours whittled away, you increasingly observed the shift toward pitch practice in the hallways and discrete workspace corners. Finally, the moment of truth arrived and all teams convened to the stage where a short ~40 hours ago the event had officially kicked off!

Each team took the stage and presented their problem and solution. Some creatively used a short skit to outline their issue; others relied on compelling visuals and videos. Common to all was the passion with which the project was delivered. A number of questions from the diverse panel of judges followed each presentation enabling the team to elaborate on their solution. It was clear that an incredible amount of effort had been put in by each of the teams and some had very promising approaches.

When the time came for deliberation by the judges, it was clear that the competition was incredibly close and teams eagerly anticipated the outcomes!

Here is the list of winners:

Prizes

CHEO Pilot Opportunity Prize

Sparkboard #59: Patient Wait Time

Sparkboard #2: Sleep Apnea Diagnostic Tool

IBM Watson Grand Prize 

Sparkboard #46: Crowdsourcing Knowledge Synthesis in Medicine

Sparkboard #95: Canadian Pediatrics Hematology/Oncology Patient Database

IBM IoT Gold Prize

Sparkboard #47: A Smarter Post-operative Knee Brace

IBM IoT Silver Prize

Sparkboard #2: Sleep Apnea Diagnostic Tool

Joule Innovation Mentorship Prize

Sparkboard #75: Free Flap Monitoring

Shopify Mentorship Package

Sparkboard #91: Alrt Me

Sparkboard #47: A Smarter Post-operative Knee Brace

Sparkboard #73: VitalTracer

Impact Hub Ottawa Prize

Sparkboard #93: Timsle

Sparkboard #46: Crowdsourcing knowledge synthesis in medicine

Sparkboard #95: Canadian pediatrics hematology/oncology patient database

Designer Dream Team Prize, $5000

Sparkboard #47: A Smarter Post-operative Knee Brace

Sparkboard #80: Triage (MADD booking for Med)

Sparkboard #76: Better and Safer Critical Congenital Heart Disease (CCHD) Screening

Showcase Showdown Prize, $1000

Sparkboard #72: Take Care

Sparkboard #49: Latched

Awards

Desjardins Health Innovation Award

Sparkboard #84: WHIT: Women’s Health Information Tracker

Can Hack It! Sponsored by Macadamian – $250

Sparkboard #49: Latched

Sparkboard #84: WHIT: Women’s Health Information Tracker

Hacking Health Choice Award

Sparkboard #84: WHIT : Women’s Health Information Tracker

Best Solution for Healthcare Collaboration Award

Sparkboard #49: Latched

Best Solution for Patients Award

Sparkboard #91: AlrtMe

Best Health Education Solution Award

Sparkboard #85: Online Medical Publishing Platform

People’s Choice Award

Sparkboard #47: A Smarter Post-operative Knee Brace


With all said and done, Hacking Health Ottawa would again extend their thanks to all sponsors and who made this hackathon such a resounding success. Of course, this event is just another on the journey to implementing effective change in healthcare locally and globally.

Hacking Health Ottawa has a number of post-hackathon events in the weeks to come. Stay tuned for more info! Don’t want to miss a thing? Be sure to register for our newsletter or follow us on Twitter!

For more stories and articles about the success of the weekend, please see the following links:

Radio Canada

Ottawa Citizen News Article

Metro News Article

WINGD

Runhe Wang LinkedIn Article

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Hacking Health OttawaThe Hacking Health Ottawa Hackathon
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