February 7, 2023
IVADO can propel you to success, and even to space! Baüne, an IVADO industrial member, is a shining example of this. Testimony of a $2 million project supported by the Canadian Space Agency, with cosmic ambitions but very earthly impacts.
Space, the final frontier! When Baüne became an IVADO industrial member, it could not predict that its innovative products could one day find themselves among the stars.
With roots in both Québec and Alberta, the young company wields many cutting-edge technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and 5G. Its mission: to promote preventive and accessible healthcare through connected medicine.
“Baüne believes in preventive and proactive medicine. Our technological solutions aim to make healthcare ubiquitous and accessible beyond the physical boundaries of hospitals and clinics, for the benefit of all.”
Darine Ameyed
Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer, Baüne
Baüne joined IVADO in February 2022 to take advantage of the Institute’s in-depth knowledge of the Canadian innovation ecosystem and of the wide range of opportunities afforded by its vast community. IVADO quickly referred Baüne to a golden opportunity: the “Health Beyond” initiative of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).
The goal? The development, through a call for projects, of a connected care medical module (C²M²), an integrated healthcare delivery system for astronauts in space. To achieve medical autonomy, the C²M² will have to be ultra-connected, adaptable, and predictive. This challenge was right up Baüne’s alley, and IVADO assisted the company in submitting its project to the CSA.
This collaboration proved to be fruitful. In December 2022, the CSA announced the selection of five projects within the “Health Beyond” initiative, including Baüne’s. This comes with a $2 million grant that will allow Baüne to develop its C²M² prototype in the coming years, with the continued support of IVADO.
Yet, the relevance of Baüne’s C²M² prototype goes beyond space. Prof. Neila Mezghani, who became involved with the project through IVADO, emphasizes its positive impact on the health sector as a whole.
“The health problems experienced by astronauts in zero gravity are similar to those found on Earth. Research into the use of IoT in space will thus lead to the refinement of personalized monitoring and connected medicine in general.”
Neila Mezghani
professor (TÉLUQ) and Canada Research Chair in Biomedical Data Mining
Indeed, the C²M² prototype will be able to shed light on the issue of medical deserts, faced by many remote, northern, and Indigenous communities in Canada.
