Health tech innovation may be advancing at breakneck speed, but without feedback from the people who deliver care, even the most promising technology can fall flat.

That’s why more than 40 clinicians, researchers, and startup founders gathered at Cambridge Memorial Hospital (CMH) on July 16 for the 2025 Health Tech Innovation Showcase.

Co-hosted by MACcelerate at McMaster University, Waterloo Regional Campus and Communitech, the event featured pitching, listening and connecting to help bridge the gap between early-stage medtech solutions and the environments they aim to serve.

“In health care, it can take five years and $50 million to get a product to market,” said Erin Skimson, Director of Health Innovation at MACcelerate. “There isn’t a day when I don’t read a story about the challenges of technology in health care. But here in this room, we’re solving that disconnect.”

Skimson challenged attendees to make three meaningful connections at the event and reminded them that even casual comments from the front lines could be “gold” for founders trying to make their technology viable.

From pitch to practice

Six emerging Canadian health tech companies pitched their solutions to a room of clinicians and health system leaders, followed by informal conversations. On the table were new ways to detect cancer, restore mobility, reduce surgical risk and improve recovery.

“The best tech in the world doesn’t matter if it doesn’t fit into actual clinical workflows,” said Jan Gunash, Program Manager of the Communitech Medtech Accelerator Program. “That’s why events like this matter. They let founders hear what matters most, from the people who actually deliver care.”

The lineup included:

• Sensible Vascular – a single-device thrombectomy system to treat ischemic stroke
  

• Vibraint – a brain-controlled rehabilitation robot for paralyzed patients
  

• NerView Surgical – a non-invasive nerve-visualization device for surgery
  

• Awenza Health – a wearable platform for muscle rehab with real-time, quantitative data
  

• Illumacell – a light-based cancer therapy activating naturally occurring drugs
  

• Maman Biomedical – a needle-free hormone patch for fertility treatments
  

Each company had three minutes to talk about their solution, followed by face-to-face time with clinicians who could validate or challenge their assumptions.

Seeing through the noise

Michael Ben, President of Illumacell, knows firsthand how difficult it is to gain traction in health care without deep-pocketed backers.

His company is developing a non-invasive photodynamic therapy that uses light to activate a drug capable of killing cancer cells. Unlike traditional approaches that rely on invasive fiber optics, Illumacell’s system delivers light deep into the body externally, which eliminates the need for surgical access.

“Our light is capable of penetrating non-invasively, vastly deeper than others,” said Ben. “Other companies use fiber optic delivery to get inside. Photo dynamic therapy is very common in dermatology clinics. Because penetration isn’t an issue, lights can penetrate skin cancers.”

For his company, the biggest challenge is proof. While compassionate-use cases in Canada and Mexico have shown promise, funding for large-scale trials remains elusive.

“The common theme is ‘show us your data’. And that’s a challenge when it costs a lot of money to get the data to the level they want,” he said. “We’re always one person away from someone who could write a cheque, or introduce us to the right people.”

Ben is now seeking $2 million to fund clinical trials in California, Guelph, and India.

From bootstrapped to breakthrough

Farah El-Hamri, CCO of Awenza Health, talked about muscle recovery and what’s missing from standard care.

“Rates of re-injury and medical complications can reach as high as 35 - 36 per cent,” she said. “Current methods are mostly qualitative, so no two patients receive the same set of care.”

To address the problem, her team built a three-part platform called DIMT (Dynamic Intelligent Muscle Tracking) that combines a non-invasive device, a physician-facing software dashboard and AI-assisted reporting. The goal is to provide real-time, quantitative data that helps prevent re-injury and enables earlier interventions.

“We’ve built an eight-person team, developed our hardware and software MVP, and tested it with patients,” she said. “Now we’re looking to raise our pre-seed round and reach more clinicians.”

Awenza Health has already landed a pilot with Germany’s largest chain of rehabilitation hospitals and is hoping to expand into outpatient and tele-rehab use cases.

Mind over matter

Among the moving pitches of the day came from Ilia Borishchev, CEO and founder of Vibraint. His company has developed a rehabilitation robot controlled by a brain-computer interface, allowing patients with paralysis to regain motion through thought.

“This robot is controlled by a brain-computer interface, directly by the patient’s thoughts,” he said. “Our goal is to bring largely paralyzed folks to the stage when they can benefit from conventional therapy.”

Asked why he joined the Showcase, Ilia didn’t hesitate.

“These are very busy folks, and every opportunity matters,” he said.

Awards recognize standout innovators

After the pitches, attendees cast their votes for the day’s most impressive innovations:

• Best Pitch – NerView Surgical

• Innovation with Greatest Patient Impact – Sensible Vascular

• “Why Doesn’t This Already Exist?” – Maman Biomedical

For founders in the room, the recognition was meaningful, but the conversations were even more valuable.

“Clinicians are the ones who know what works and what doesn’t,” said Gunash. “Getting their insight early on is what turns good ideas into scalable solutions.”

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