Newfoundland and Labrador’s growing health tech sector is creating jobs while developing innovative solutions to improve the quality and cost efficiency of health care. The Honourable Andrew Parsons, KC, Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology, today announced $464,000 in nonrepayable funding for BreatheSuite to assist with incorporating Artificial Intelligence (AI) into its rehabilitation products.
Incorporated in 2018, BreatheSuite has focused on assisting patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other respiratory illnesses by delivering a virtual pulmonary rehabilitation program. BreatheSuite’s program helps users maximize their lung capacity and mobility through exercise, education, monitoring and self-management.
Support for the project will help the company use AI and automation to better manage referral intake and patient enrollment. The company will also create AI-based tools to improve patient engagement and usability including content delivery, goal tracking, gamification, and personalized recommendations. Finally, the company will develop an onboarding portal for health care providers to automate licensing processes, program delivery, appointment tracking and HIPAA-compliant records management. This project is supported through the Business Growth Program, which provides non-repayable contributions for projects or initiatives to assist businesses start, innovate, scale and improve sales locally, nationally or internationally.
In addition to this investment from the Provincial Government, BreatheSuite is receiving advisory services and up to $700,000 in research and development funding from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) to advance AI technologies in its Virtual Pulmonary Rehab Program. Combined with a further $606,000 from BreatheSuite, this project totals an investment of over $1.77 million.
Quotes
“By bringing together leading expertise and cutting-edge technology, BreatheSuite is once again showing what high-impact health tech innovation in the 21st century looks like. The company has a very qualified team of engineers and software developers, as well as health care professionals, including physicians and respiratory therapists. Our department is pleased to provide support as they take the next step in scaling up the company and delivering even better health outcomes for patients.”
Honourable Andrew Parsons, KC
Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology
“Over the last 18 months, we have made a transformational change at BreatheSuite that has made an incredible impact to the patients that we serve across North America. With this investment from the province, we’re able to continue striving towards our ambitious goals, with the vision of helping respiratory patients live longer, healthier lives. We are so glad to have the province support this next phase of growth and are very excited to see what’s to come.”
Brett Vokey
CEO, BreatheSuite
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