This is an exciting place to do research. With a well-developed university network that includes four faculties of medicine and many related departments, Québec's passion for research, innovation and the advancement of knowledge is in plentiful supply!
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The Canadian Space Agency is awarding a new contract to Montréal’s Carré Technologies to continue advancing technology on Astroskin, an innovative bio-monitoring system for use aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Consisting of a “smart shirt” and remote health monitoring software, Astroskin will collect valuable scientific data on astronauts’ vital signs, sleep quality and activity levels during their missions. CSA Astronaut David Saint-Jacques will test Astroskin during his six-month mission aboard the ISS in 2018-2019.
CAE Healthcare in Montréal is the brain behind the METIman patient simulator, which was used to help train more than 4,800 volunteer medical responders at Rio de Janeiro’s Estacio de Sa University, in preparation for the Rio 2016 Olympics. The high-fidelity patient simulator breathes, bleeds, responds to treatment and displays vital signs as a human would. CAE Healthcare, a subsidiary of global leader CAE, does all its research in Québec where it has invented many health simulators such as METIman.
Innovation is definitely a priority in Québec: 2.32% of the province’s GDP is spent on R&D. That’s the highest percentage for any province in Canada, and even exceeds the averages for France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Canada! Since 2004, R&D spending in proportion to provincial GDP has been higher in Québec than in any other Canadian province.
Kinova , a medium-sized Montréal company founded by two young entrepreneurs, designed a six-axis robotic manipulator equipped with a three-fingered hand dubbed JACO. This small marvel of engineering—unique in its design—significantly improves the lives of people with reduced upper body mobility and was quickly adopted by many individuals facing the challenges of this disability. This unique robotic assistive device was quickly adopted by many people with upper body disabilities.
A number of drugs considered to be important discoveries for human health were developed in Québec, including SingulairTM (Merck ), 3TC/EpivirTM (Biochem Pharma ) and the FluLavalTM influenza vaccine (GSK
). The first cryotherapy treatment for cardiovascular disease was also developed here (CryoCath and Medtronic
).
The Sherbrooke-ACCESS-CDRD Node is a biopharmaceutical accelerator resulting from a collaborative agreement between Université de Sherbrooke and the Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD). The ACCESS node will focus on collaborative health-related projects in areas such as pain and inflammation. The CDRD will work with the Institut de pharmacologie de Sherbrooke (IPS) to advance research discoveries towards commercialization and clinical applications.
A new state-of-the-art medical research institute was inaugurated in Montréal in April 2017. With a mission to invent future technologies and implement them more quickly in the healthcare network, the TransMedTech Institute , whose main laboratory is based at the Centre hospitalier universitaire (CHU) Sainte-Justine, aims to discover new techniques for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, cardiovascular disease and musculoskeletal disorders.
EMC Canada brings its expertise in visualization and data-storage technology to the McGill University NeuroHub project. The Canadian research team that helped spearhead the international brain-mapping project known as BigBrain is about to get a major boost in its effort to produce sharply higher-resolution brain maps, thanks to technology from EMC Corporation. McGill will establish a research-and-development centre that will serve as a test bed to adapt EMC Isilon scale-out NAS for powerful visualization and data-storage technology to support the complex needs of leading-edge neuroscience.
Québec boasts a number of research centres, groups and funds that have earned the recognition of the international scientific community. These organizations play an active role in sparking creativity and innovation in Québec and forging partnerships with the private sector.
A number of technology parks and incubators provide a home for Québec’s expertise and innovation. Several of these are in the greater Montréal region:
Because we believe health is a priority, Québec has chosen to invest over $5 billion in the health system, notably to upgrade existing hospitals and build new, ultramodern institutions. In fact, Montréal is home to three super-hospitals, with off-shoot university hospital research centres:
CHUM - Centre hospitalier universitaire de l’Université de Montréal
Located in the heart of Montréal, the CHUM is an international health referral centre employing over 12,500 people, including:
MUHC - The McGill University Health Centre
The MUHC is one of the world’s best university hospital centres. It has the expertise of:
CHU Sainte-Justine Mother and Child University Hospital Centre
The Sainte-Justine University Hospital Centre (CHU Sainte-Justine) is Canada’s largest maternity-child centre and Québec’s largest pediatric training centre. It thrives on the work excellence of over 5,400 employees, including: