Pitch Perfect 2021

Temerty Faculty of Medicine and Health Innovation Hub initiative to celebrate and support student innovations on health matters.  Six groups will present their pitches. Three winners will be selected by a panel of invited judges and will be awarded $5000 each.

Meet Our Finalists:

• Clinical VR aims to utilize virtual reality (VR) to dramatically reduce pain and anxiety during medical procedures to improve clinical outcomes, enrich patient experience, and enhance clinician experience.
• Epiloid Biotechnology is looking to analyze the electrical signaling of organoids, using a tailor-made multi-electrode array and custom machine learning algorithms to assess which anti-epileptic medication will be most effective for a patient’s brain tissue.
• Flora Bioworks is leveraging the most cutting-edge technologies to build a platform capable of delivering unprecedented insight on patients’ microbiomes in the context of health, disease, and recommendation of intervention strategies.
• HDAX is looking to advance into clinical studies in coming years over emerging strategies targeting epigenetic processes, including the HDAC6 protein which has been validated in multiple myeloma patients.
• Salibiotics with their expertise in the clinical and scientific areas of oral health and microbiology have developed a novel anti-caries product – a powerful oral probiotic capable of killing 99% of the main bacteria involved in causing tooth cavities. This probiotic is a commensal bacterium with the potential to offer sustainable and long-term probiotic benefits.
• SMS NanoTech has developed a low-cost fluid-based approach coupled with nanostructured materials. The predicted high sensitivity and selectivity along with the low manufacturing cost of their technology form an ideal diagnostic tool for rapid SARS-CoV-2 detection.

Evaluation Criteria:

Proposals will be evaluated on commercialization/translation potential including (but not limited to) the following criteria: 

• Identified health/medical need; 
• Scientific basis for design solution; 
• Novelty, complexity, risk & feasibility; 
• Work plan, milestones, deliverables & decision points; 
• Knowledge transfer plan; and 
• Health impact / market potential. 
  

Email for more information or questions: info.h2i@utoronto.ca