The Innovators' Challenge: Connecting Philanthropy with Health Innovation

Accelerating health care innovation in BC

Connecting the power of philanthropy with the power of innovation

Solutions to health care’s greatest challenges won’t come from one idea or person. They will come from a community of innovators and investors, using their time, talent, and financial support to create system-wide change.

With the power of philanthropy, you can spark the greatest push for health care innovation ever seen in BC.

The 2019 Innovators’ Challenge raised an incredible $450,000 to support the transformation of health care in BC.

Thank you to our generous donors, sponsors, health care partners and friends. Together, we can accelerate the process of testing, adopting and implementing leading health care innovations across Vancouver Coastal Health.

Recap of the 2019 Innovators' Challenge event

2019 Featured Research Projects

Event attendees were the first to witness three local medical teams pitch their groundbreaking ideas to revolutionize patient care to the Accelerators Panel. Congratulations to them all.

Dr. Peter Skarsgard – Surgical Mitral Valve Repair. Percutaneously | Recipient of Judge’s Choice $300,000 Award
Dr. Eitan Prisman – Real Time Reconstruction | Recipient of $50,000 Audience Choice Bradshaw Prize
Dr. Martin McKeown – The Headband | Recipient of $25,000 Ricci Penn Prize

UPDATE on the 2018 Research Project Finalists

The Headband: A novel stimulator to prevent falls

Ricci Penn Prize Recipient

Falls are the main cause of injury-related hospital visits among elderly Canadians. Dr. Martin McKeown is developing a lightweight wearable device to prevent falls by connecting an electronic unit with the bones behind the ears to deliver customized electronic stimuli to the human balance system.

Real Time Reconstruction: A 3-D surgical cutting guide for head and neck cancers

Audience Choice Bradshaw Prize Winner

Dr. Eitan Prisman has designed an innovative, low-cost 3-D surgical cutting guide called Real Time Reconstruction for head and neck cancers. A mathematical algorithm is used to create a patient-specific reconstruction plan. This will lead to more accurate reconstructions and decreased surgical time.

Surgical Mitral Valve Repair. Percutaneously

Judges Choice Award Winner

Mitral regurgitation (MR) is the most common heart valve disease in the Western world, and often requires open heart surgery. Dr. Peter Skarsgard has invented a medical device that allow the mitral valve to be repaired through the leg, reducing risk, and resulting in shorter hospital stays and recovery times.

Lifetime Achievement in Health Innovation Award

The new Lifetime Achievement in Health Innovation Award, presented by VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation, has been created to recognize the exceptional capabilities, achievements and leadership of an individual from the medical device, biotech, diagnostics and/or health care industries.

Inaugural winner, Dr. Donald Ricci presented the 2019 prize to Dr. Dianne Miller.

In addition to being a co-founder of OVCARE, she has led incredible breakthroughs in research and patient care, which will benefit countless women at risk for ovarian cancer.

Innovators’ Challenge Advisory Committee

The Innovators’ Challenge Advisory Committee is a collection of individuals who bring a set of unique knowledge and skills from the health and innovation sectors. Learn more

Paul Geyer (Chair)

CEO of Discovery Parks and Nimbus Synergies, a unique Health Technology Program under the Discovery Parks umbrella

Andrew Booth

Chief Commercial Officer, STEMCELL Technologies

Jerel Davis

Managing Director, Versant Ventures

Dr. Antony Hodgson

Co-Director, ICICS, UBC; Director, HATCH Incubator, VCHRI; Director, Surgical Technologies Lab, VCHRI

Gordon McCauley

President & CEO, CDRD

Maria Pacella

Senior VP, Private Equity, PenderFund Capital Management

Dr. Don Ricci

Inaugural Lifetime Achievement in Health Innovation Award Winner

Innovators’ Challenge Accelerator Panel

The Innovators’ Challenge Accelerator Panel is made up of four prominent members of the health care and technology industries. They will evaluate each project presented based on how the presenters can demonstrate the potential to improve patient care, bring forth savings to the health care system, their commercialization potential, and if it has significant advantages to existing or potential competitors. Learn more