SFU VentureLabs-supported companies developing COVID-19 solutions

By: Braden McMillan

By connecting entrepreneurs with experienced mentors and a network of valuable resources, SFU VentureLabs is supporting thousands of innovators and hundreds of companies solving some of the most complex challenges facing society, including those posed by COVID-19.

SFU News highlights a few of the companies working on life science, digital health and technology solutions for physicians, patients and health systems during the pandemic.                                             

Remote symptom-monitoring and reporting

Agartee delivers real-time, remote, symptom-monitoring and early-detection solutions that can alert families and physicians about “at-risk” individuals, including seniors and those suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma. Remote monitoring ensures individuals receive care when they need it, reduces potential exposure for caregivers and frees up resources in the healthcare system. 
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Remote medication tracking and alerting

CuePath lets families and care providers remotely track their loved ones’ medication intake, which helps alleviate the stress associated with caregiving. As family and caregivers are restricted from visiting seniors in care homes, CuePath can alert health providers when issues arise and provide telephone reminders to keep seniors safe during the pandemic.
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Social networks for patients

Curatio helps connect patients and families to the daily disease management, adherence and personalized peer support they need to achieve their best outcomes. Dedicated private social networks with health-tracking tools, community support, and health insights can all help connect socially isolated populations and reduce the burden on local healthcare systems. 
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Drone delivery of urgent supplies 

InDro Robotics deploys commercial drones to fly long-range over cellular networks. The company offers a wide range of services to industries, governments and first responders, including the unmanned delivery of urgent medical supplies, prescriptions and personal protective equipment (PPE).
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Virtual doctor consultations

Medimap Virtual Care lets physicians meet their own patients through secure video consults, as well as see remote “walk-in” patients in their own region or from across the province. Easy access to video consults allows patients to stay home, freeing up health care resources while encouraging physical distancing.
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Patient prioritization and analytics

Bio Conscious is a health analytics company that delivers machine-learning solutions to doctors and patients, which improves health through proactive management. The company’s product, Endobits, delivers diabetes patient data to clinics in a prioritized format, allowing providers to address those who need urgent intervention and reduce hospitalizations.
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Next-generation sequencing for early virus detection

Fusion Genomics is applying novel DNA/RNA capture and informatics technologies, with the aim of preventing unnecessary deaths from infectious disease. The company has developed a COVID-19-specific surveillance test for all human and major zoonotic coronaviruses, including SARs-CoV-2. Fusion Genomics provides easily deployable, low-cost, whole genome sequencing of SARSCoV-2 for disease surveillance, transmission dynamics and treatment response. 
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