Finalists competing in Montreal (June 13):

HomeEXCEPT has non-intrusive monitoring solutions that help caregivers while maintaining the dignity of the senior. These solutions do not use cameras, listening devices or wearables, putting privacy first, using smart sensors to create anonymous events.

Soft Biomed presents ADel, a dedicated electronic domestic assistant that is accessible even to a person with a relatively large loss of autonomy, their relatives, and caregivers. The basic version includes videotelephony, an emergency button, meal and services purchasing, a simplified TV remote control, and a smart agenda and uses IoT and home automation to support home care.

Tenera brings reliable, modern, real-time technology to senior living facilities to monitor and analyse the health patterns and activities that impact the safety of residents and staff. By reducing risk and changing behaviours, facilities have the best possible setting to provide care to residents, and better work conditions for staff.

Urban Farms Organic offers a flat-packed, aerated, self-watered vertical garden that offers easy access to fresh home-grown food in senior communities, without the typical hassle and infrastructure costs of vertical gardens. These vertical gardens require minimal work, are error-proof, stimulate the senses, engage the mind through gardening, and provide healthy produce to improve the quality of a senior’s diet.

Walk-Well Universe is dedicated to solving the problem of unsafe walking through an innovative product for people needing to practice gait improvement. The Heel2Toe sensor provides real-time auditory feedback for a good step, harnessing the power of the brain to stamp in an optimal walking pattern.

Finalists competing in Vancouver (July 16):

AltumView Systems is an artificial intelligence (AI) company that developed the Cypress visual sensor to provide around-the-clock senior monitoring. Cypress uses AI to detect unusual incidents such as falls and alerts caregivers. Privacy is built into the core of the product: all AI analysis is performed on the device so no images or videos are ever transmitted or saved.

Luxsonic Technologies is developing Pain RelieVR to improve the overall health and welfare of our aging population. This immersive and interactive virtual reality (VR) training tool will help family caregivers learn how to identify and manage pain in older adults with conditions including cognitive decline and dementia. It will also empower caregivers with self-assessment tools to test their newfound skills.

StrongerU Senior Fitness is Canada’s first pre-choreographed senior fitness series offering online education and certification for instructors in four program types: cardio, strength, stretch, and circuit. With quarterly program releases, the company aims to provide quality and consistent fitness classes aimed at helping seniors maintain or increase their current level of functional mobility.

Tochtech Technologies produces Smarturns to help older adults living at home to remain safe, by preventing property damage, or worse, serious injury from stoves that have been inadvertently left on. When Smarturns detects that a stove is left on and unattended, it triggers a local alarm to alert the older adult and also notifies a caregiver via text.

True Angle Medical Technologies’ Mobili-T swallowing therapy system provides accessible therapy for older adults with swallowing difficulties. Current solutions can only be used in clinics, whereas the Mobili-T is a miniaturized mobile medical device for at-home or on-the-go patient use, with a software portal for clinician remote-monitoring.

Finalists competing in Toronto (July 25):

BISEP is developing the ARMM, a device that attaches an individual’s wheelchair directly to their walker. It provides lateral and posterior support for the transfer from the wheelchair to the walker and allows the user to safely practice daily exercises. The ARMM increases frequency of ambulation and walking while decreasing sedentary time.

Cosm Medical combines ultrasound, data science, and 3D printing to create gynethotics— patient-specific gynecological prosthetics to treat women with pelvic floor disorders, which includes prolapse and incontinence. These custom prosthetics reduce complications related to current therapies such as pelvic floor surgery and pessaries.

iMerciv empowers those with vision loss through the BuzzClip, a wearable mobility tool that detects obstacles and informs the user of these obstacles through intuitive vibrations. The BuzzClip helps users avoid collisions and accidents and has already impacted thousands of lives across the world with commercial distribution in over 25 countries.

MemorySparx Connect by Emmetros is an easy-to-use digital tool that helps organizations deliver exceptional person-centered care. MemorySparx Connect gives care providers, family members, and care recipients access to a shared circle of information about a care recipient’s day, life, and health and also provides in-the-moment chat and content update notifications to ensure the care team is informed and connected.

Just Vertical makes a difference in the lives of the aging population by making their lifelong hobby of gardening accessible again through an indoor vertical garden system. In trials, the garden was shown to have made an impact on the well-being of seniors, especially those who were home-bound and have restricted mobility.