PROGRAM

AI is reshaping how older adults live, connect, and receive care–and it’s raising urgent questions our sector can’t afford to ignore. Who benefits? Who gets left behind? And who decides? Join researchers, trainees, industry leaders, and community voices for a highly interactive symposium at the intersection of AI, ethics, and aging. Participants will dig into the issues that matter most: consent, privacy, equity, and inclusion in AI-enabled AgeTech, and help set the agenda for what comes next by informing the work of the AI and Aging Council convened by AGE-WELL, and the AgeTech Futures Institute.

Interact with a wide array of exhibits, view demos, and network at our popular “Drinks & Demos” Reception and Showcase. The official kick-off to the AGE-WELL Annual Conference.

Breakfast with the AGE-WELL Older Adult and Caregiver Advisory Committee. Open only to older adult and caregiver delegates.

• Exhibits (Confederation Ballroom Foyer, Provinces II)
• Poster Viewing (Governor General II/III)
  

Click here for full list of Posters

A. Symposium (Provinces I)

Innovating Palliative and End-of-Life Care Through Virtual Reality, Co-Creation, and Community Engagement

• Applications of Virtual Reality in Palliative Care: A Systematic Review of Clinical and Supportive Use
• A Co-Creation Approach to Designing Virtual Reality Content for Palliative and End-of-Life Care
• Evaluating Virtual Reality for Anxiety Reduction in Family Caregivers of Individuals Receiving End-of-Life Car
• A Virtual Reality Intervention in Hospitalized Palliative Care Individuals: Effects on Anxiety and User Experience

Presenters:

• Alexander Moreno, Professeur associé / Adjunct Professor chez Université de Montréal. Chercheur et directeur de laboratoire au CRIUGM (INTECOG – Innovation, Technologie et Cognition)/ Researcher and Laboratory Director at CRIUGM (INTECOG)
• Célia Rigoulat, Étudiante au Doctorat Recherche en psychologie – Laboratoire Innovation, technologie et cognition
• Léa Stracuzzi, Étudiante au baccalauréat en neuroscience cognitive, option neuropsychologie à l’Université de Montréal

B. Workshop (Quebec)

Designing Meaningful Digital Biomarkers for Real-World Care of Older Adults: Principles and Pitfalls

Facilitator: Andrea Iaboni, Senior Scientist, KITE, Toronto Rehab, University Health Network

C. Research Talks & Blitzes: Innovation at Home and in the Community (Ontario)

Click here for full list of Research Talks & Research Blitzes

D. AI Track Session I: Workshop (Governor General I)

Co-creating the Way Forward for AI and Aging

Early outcomes from the work of the AI & Aging Council, a cross-sector group established to provide strategic guidance on responsible development, use and governance of artificial intelligence for aging populations in Canada. 

Facilitators: Michael Chrostowski, Chief Partnerships Officer, AGE-WELL, Noor Al-Zanoon, Project Manager, Business Development & Partnerships, AGE-WELL; Radhika Goswami Rathor, Knowledge Mobilization and Policy Coordinator, AGE-WELL

• Exhibits (Confederation Ballroom Foyer, Provinces II)
• Poster Viewing (Governor General II/III)
  

  Click here for full list of Posters

     Lunch & Learn Workshops – 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM 

• Mobilizing Aging and Health Research: Evidence‑Based Strategies for Social Media Dissemination and Impact Evaluation – Thomas Hadjistavropoulos, Professor and Research Chair in Aging and Health, University of Regina
• Communicating about AgeTech with Policy Audiences: Some Basics – Patrick Patterson, Knowledge Broker, APPTA Innovation Hub

A. Symposium (Governor General I)

From Signals to Stories: Translating Wearable Data into the Lived Reality of Aging and Clinical Care

• Quantifying Gait Vital Signals: Successes and Hurdles in Continuous Movement Monitoring 
• Navigating the Promise and Challenges of GPS-Based Life-Space Monitoring 
• View from the Driver’s Seat: Merging Vehicle Telematics with Lived Journeys on the Road 
• The Last Mile: Wearable Adoption in Real-World Clinical Applications 

Presenters:

• Rashmita Chatterjee, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Calgary
• Maahika Mehta, MSc Biomedical Engineering Student, University of Calgary
• Janis Zral, Community Partner, Calgary, Canada
• Mackenzie Wallich, MSc Student in Biomedical Engineering, University of Calgary
• Jim Mann, Community Partner, Vancouver, Canada
• Christopher Pilieci, MSc Student and Research Assistant, Baycrest Academy for Research and Education
• Neil Thomas, Neurologist, Santé Bruyère Health 

B. Research Talks & Blitzes: Technology, Dementia and Cognitive Health (Ontario)

Click here for full list of Research Talks & Research Blitzes

C. AI Track Session II: Workshop (Quebec)

Evaluating and Scaling AI-Enabled Technologies in Aging and Seniors Care

Presenter: Shelagh Maloney, CEO, Digital Health Canada

Followed by a panel discussion with funders and innovators

D. envisAGE National Tour (Provinces I)

The envisAGE National Tour 2026 is a coast-to-coast initiative designed to bring AgeTech innovation directly into communities. Join us for the envisAGE National Tour stop in Ottawa during the 2026 AGE-WELL Annual Conference to learn about envisAGE and it’s ongoing impact, including results and lessons learned from across Canada. 

Join us for a double-header featuring two films that explore the experiences of aging, offering an engaging evening of storytelling, connection, and fresh perspectives on growing older.

• Exhibits (Confederation Ballroom Foyer, Provinces II)
• Poster Viewing (Governor General II/III)

Click here for full list of Posters

A. Symposium (Ontario)

Aging with Wheels: Co-Creating AgeTech Solutions to Enhance Wheelchair Mobility, Safety, and Community Participation

• Centering Lived Experience in Cross-Sectoral Co-Design: Mechanisms and Lessons from the GAMAMM Serious Game Project
• Users’ and Clinicians’ Perceptions of an Intelligent Dynamic System for Multi-Component Power Wheelchairs
• Economic and Clinical Evaluation of a Digital Follow-Up Intervention for Wheelchair Users in Quebec
• Acceptability of Power Wheelchair Simulation Among Rehabilitation Clinicians and Experienced Users: preliminary results from a mixed-Methods Study
• User-Centred Connected Health Innovation for Pressure Injury Prevention and Independent Living 

Presenters:

• Philippe Archambault, Professor, School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, McGill University
• Krista L. Best, Associate Professor, Université Laval
• François Routhier, Professeur titulaire / Full Professor chez Université Laval
• Claudine Auger, Professeure titulaire Université de Montréal et Co-directrice scientifique du CRIR et de l’IURDPM
• Félix Nindorera, Chercheur postdoctoral, Cirris – Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche en réadaptation et intégration sociale 

B. Facilitated Film Screening and Dialogue (Provinces I)

Never Too Old to Shape Innovation: From Lived Experience to AgeTech Impact

Co-Facilitators: Olive Bryanton, Lifelong Learner and Advocate for Older Adults; Heather McNeil, Program Manager, AGE-WELL

C. AI Track Session III – Symposium and Panel Discussion (Governor General I)

De-Risking AgeTech: Practical Strategies for Trialing AI in Care Settings

Facilitator: Lora Bruyn Martin, Director of Innovation, Improvement and Research, Schlegel Villages

• Exhibits (Confederation Ballroom Foyer, Provinces II)
• Poster Viewing (Governor General II/III)

  Click here for full list of Posters

  Lunch & Learn Workshops – 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM

• Bridging the Digital Divide: Experiences of Adult 65+ Learning Digital Skills – Heidi Sveistrup, Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa
• From Chatbots to Intelligent Co-Pilots: A Hands-On Introduction to Agentic AI for Healthy Aging – Rashmita Chatterjee, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Calgary
  

A. Workshop (Governor General I)

Building Responsible Agetech: Ethics and Governance Across the Innovation Lifecycle

Facilitators: Negar Mazloum-Farzaghi, Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation (CABHI); Courtney Genge, National Research Council Canada / Government of Canada; Heather McNeil, AGE-WELL

B. Research Talks & Blitzes: From Idea to Impact (Ontario)

Click here for full list of Research Talks & Research Blitzes

C. AI Track Session IV: Workshop (Quebec)

AgeTech, AI, and Accountability

Facilitator: Kunal Parikh, Health Evolve Consulting

Innovators leading the charge in Canada’s AgeTech ecosystem pitch their innovations to a panel of expert judges. Read more about this event here.