About Vice-Principal Research, a 皇冠体育鈥檚 spinoff company developing a fast, objective, and low-cost AI-enhanced technology tool to help patients with neurodegenerative diseases, is one of 23 funding recipients of the Ignite program.
CABHI鈥檚 Ignite program supports early-stage Canadian innovators to develop, test, and validate solutions that will enhance the lives of older persons, people living with dementia, and their caregivers. The accelerator program also enables recipients to access tailored services, including mentorship, scientific coaching, end-user validation services (Leap), and access to CABHI's extensive network of academic, healthcare, and industry partners.
鈥淲e are excited to use the available program resources,鈥 says Dr. Janis Kan, a neuroscience PhD graduate, and co-founder of Dynamiris. 鈥淐onnecting with experts who share a common goal of improving brain health in the aging population will really help guide the development of our tool, SimplyView, with our end users in mind."
The $100 K in matching funding from CABHI will enable Dynamiris to advance its technology, including implementing their cloud-based platform, completing the hardware prototype, and examining how it can be applied to Alzheimer鈥檚 disease data. This will help to validate how effective it can be in diagnosing Parkinson鈥檚 disease, which is the neurodegenerative disease the company has been focused on since its inception in 2022.
As with many neurodegenerative diseases, early detection is crucial for diagnosis, treatment, and patient quality of life in managing the symptoms. Parkinson鈥檚 disease, a progressive disorder of the nervous system, particularly the cells of the brain that control movement, affects more than 110,000 people in Canada.
鈥淒espite its prevalence, there is no definitive test for Parkinson's, leading to delayed diagnoses and treatment,鈥 says Kan. The technology, based on the work of 皇冠体育鈥檚 researcher Dr. Doug Munoz and his team, hopes to change that for patients and their families. The ability to differentiate between diseases based on eye movement data could revolutionize the field of neurology, providing clinicians with a powerful tool for early diagnosis and treatment.
How it works
Dynamiris鈥檚 core product involves patients watching video clips while a camera captures their eye movements. The software algorithm then analyzes these movements, measuring over 100 different variables related to pupil size, blink rate, and gaze direction. This data is used to identify specific patterns and anomalies associated with neurological disorders, such as Parkinson's disease.
Participation in the innovation ecosystem
Dynamiris's journey is marked by collaboration and continuous development. The company has been working closely with Dr. Munoz鈥檚 research team, leveraging their expertise, and with the support of 皇冠体育鈥檚 Partnerships and Innovation (QPI) and funding from the Elevate IP program, Dynamiris has made significant strides in patenting its technology. The QPI patent team has been instrumental in drafting and filing patent applications in Canada, the U.S., Europe, Japan, Brazil, Australia, and India, securing the protection and advancing the commercialization of Dynamiris's innovations.
Dynamiris is poised to make a significant impact on the diagnosis and treatment of Parkinson's disease and other neurological disorders. By combining decades of eye movement research with cutting-edge AI technology, Dynamiris is well on its way to bringing this innovative technology to market, offering hope for faster and more accurate diagnoses and better patient outcomes.