A Canadian startup hopes to train the next generation of surgeons from the comfort of their couch.
Marion Surgical, a medical technology company, has developed a surgical simulator that will be available online to any student with a virtual reality headset. Dubbed Minimally Invasive, the simulator is designed to help medical students and residents improve their skills in the latest robotic surgical techniques through a series of tutorials and hands-on surgeries. Players see exactly what a surgeon would see when performing procedures. Initially, he offers training in kidney and gallbladder removal.
Minimally Invasive is Marion Surgical's attempt at expanding access to affordable tutorials and is available to download on Steam Early Access starting next week. The company's primary activity is the sale of high-performance surgical simulators that offer full immersion with tactile feedback. But they cost about $100,000. "Schools don't always have the resources to do that," says co-founder Ben Sainsbury. He hopes Marion's new product, which will cost about $50, will help make learning the latest surgical techniques more affordable. "We want to sell a lot of these cars," he says.
The finalists of the Food Waste competition have been chosen
Startups turning food waste into everything from textiles to biodegradable plastic are among six finalists in a federal government competition to find new technologies to reduce food waste. Ottawa has now given each company up to $450,000 to test its technology in real-world environments. Finalists, competing for two $1,000,000 grand prizes, include ALT TEX of Kitchener, Aruna Revolution of Trois-Rivières, Quebec, and Genecis Bioindustries of Scarborough.
Cleantech accounts for 3% of Canada's economy.
A recent report by Deloitte sheds light on the state of clean tech in Canada. The good news is that there are 1,100 clean technology companies in Canada, employing 210,000 people and accounting for 3.1% of GDP. The bad news: Canada is not adopting new clean technologies fast enough to meet its emissions reduction goals.
Sonero acquired Mediafly
Toronto-based startup Sonero has been acquired by Mediafly, a Chicago-based sales and marketing platform. Sonero has developed an AI system that integrates with video conferencing services and provides meeting analytics. Founder Kanish Raikumar said joining Mediafly will help Sonero push the boundaries of AI technology.
Ontario hatcheries are among the best in the world
According to a new ranking by the Swedish research group UBI Global, the University of Toronto is among the top 5 university incubators in the world. The York Enterprise Development Institute and the Kitchener-Waterloo Accelerator Center are also ranked among the top public-private accelerators in the world.
Based on the numbers
$50M: Amid ongoing challenges in the lithium supply chain, Calgary-based sustainable lithium company Summit Nanotech has raised $50M.
$1.1 trillion: In the past year, the world invested $1.1 trillion in the clean energy transition, matching the amount first spent on oil and gas.
40 million dollars: Quantum computing company Xanadu has received $40 million from the federal government. In November, the company raised $100 million from venture capital funds.
$6.5M: Diversio, a Toronto-based diversity, equal opportunity and inclusion platform, has raised $6.5M in Series A funding.
Disclaimer This content was created in partnership and as such may not meet the standards of impartial or independent journalism.
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