PRESS RELEASE  
For immediate release

AVISÉ Program Concludes Its Call by Funding Nine New Collaborative Projects

Montreal, September 30,  2026 — MEDTEQ+, a pan-Canadian industrial research and innovation consortium that supports health technology companies in bringing their innovations to market, announces funding for nine new collaborative projects as part of the third call for proposals under its program to support validation, health innovation, and evaluation (AVISÉ). Supported by the Ministry of Economy, Innovation, and Energy (MEIE) and implemented with the support of the Health Evaluation and Innovation Network (RÉIS), the AVISÉ program enables companies to validate their solutions in real-world healthcare settings and benefit from the clinical expertise necessary for their evaluation. This latest round concludes the call for projects, bringing the total number of collaborative projects selected and announced this year to twenty-four.  

The nine projects in this third round represent a total value of nearly $7.4 million, of which nearly $3.3 million is funded by the Government of Quebec and $3.6 million comes from private contributions.  

Here are the selected projects:

  • Real-World Deployment and Evaluation of a Highly Automated Robotic Kitchen for Personalized Food Service in Senior Living Facilities

The project, led by Chef Jasper, aims to evaluate whether a highly automated robotic kitchen can make it economically viable to provide meals tailored to residents’ nutritional needs, while also making the kitchen staff’s work easier. The OROT team—comprising Santé Québec Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal and university researchers—will assess, among other things, the level of automation in operations, the variety of meals offered, residents’ caloric and nutritional intake, and the reliability of the food service. The results will help estimate this technology’s potential to improve seniors’ nutrition and quality of life.
Evaluation sites: Mandala Sante (Villa des Brises) 

  • Digital Innovation for Safety and Quality of Care: Evaluation of a Decision-Support Platform in Senior Living Facilities

The project, led by Paratus Medical, will implement and evaluate a digital platform that centralizes the protocols and procedures used by teams in senior living facilities. Accessible via phone, tablet, or computer, the solution offers simple, structured workflows to guide staff through various situations, including falls, missing residents, or refusal to eat. The OROT team—Santé Québec Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal—Universitaire will analyze the platform’s use and its integration into practices, as well as its clinical, organizational, and economic impacts. This evaluation will help identify necessary adjustments to the solution in preparation for its broader deployment.
Evaluation sites: Ressource Notre-Dame-de-la-Paix and Habitations Bordeleau

  • IRIS-Aînés: Proactive Management of Respiratory Virus Outbreaks in Senior Living Facilities for the Benefit of Residents and the Health Care System

The IRIS-Aînés project, presented by Nosotech, relies on a real-time electronic alert and geolocation solution to accelerate the detection of respiratory virus cases and support more proactive outbreak management in senior living facilities. By facilitating the transmission and tracking of information between facilities and infection prevention and control teams, the solution could help reduce the spread of infections and their resulting consequences. The OROT team—Santé Québec Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal – Universitaire—will evaluate the effects of IRIS-Aînés on outbreak management, hospital transfers, attack rates, and case fatality rates. The project will thus document the potential benefits of this approach for residents, staff, and the healthcare system.
Evaluation sites: Jewish General Hospital – Santé Québec Centre-Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal – Universitaire, Santé Québec Bas-Saint-Laurent, Santé Québec Lanaudière, Habitations Bordeleau, and Silvertech

  • Optimizing Care and the Patient Journey with RIOH’s RTLS Solution

The project, developed by RIOH, involves the large-scale deployment of real-time location system (RTLS) technology at the Sacré-Cœur Hospital in Montreal to facilitate the tracking and management of equipment used by healthcare teams. The solution tracks the movement of equipment and quickly pinpoints its location, thereby helping to reduce the time spent searching for it and improving its availability. The team from NIM Intelliance—Santé Québec Nord-de-l’Île-de-Montréal—Universitaire will measure, among other things, time savings for staff, equipment availability, and the impact on the smooth flow of the patient journey. The project will also document the potential of geolocation in the digital transformation of the healthcare network.
Evaluation sites: Sacré-Cœur-de-Montréal Hospital – Santé Québec Nord-de-l’Île-de-Montréal – Universitaire

  • Optimizing Eye Care in Quebec Through a Digital Imaging and Tele-ophthalmology Solution

The project, led by LightX Innovations, will evaluate a digital imaging technology designed to capture and organize images of the eye in a more standardized manner during a slit-lamp examination. The images can then be securely transmitted to ophthalmologists at referral centers, facilitating collaboration between specialists and professionals in less specialized settings and helping to limit unnecessary in-person patient transfers. The Network for Evaluation and Innovation in Sustainable Health (REISD)—Santé Québec Capitale-Nationale—University—will analyze the solution’s impact on patient care, clinical collaboration, and the use of specialized resources.
Evaluation site: CHU de Québec-Université Laval, Santé Québec Saguenay−Lac-Saint-Jean—University, Santé Québec Gaspésie, and Santé Québec des Îles

  • PAIR+ – Evaluation of the Integration of an AI Chatbot into the PAIR Municipal Telecare Program

The PAIR+ project introduces an artificial intelligence-based chatbot (Amical) into the PAIR program, which has been providing daily check-ins for seniors living alone at home for over 40 years. Accessible directly from users’ regular phones, this new feature allows them to interact with a caring virtual companion without requiring any additional equipment or technical training. The Network for Evaluation and Innovation in Sustainable Health (REISD)—Santé Québec Capitale-Nationale—Universitaire will evaluate this integration under real-world conditions, including its acceptability, its effects on loneliness and the sense of security, as well as its organizational impacts for municipalities. This evaluation will document the potential of a model combining telecare and AI to combat social isolation among seniors.
Evaluation Sites: SOMUM Solutions – PAIR Program

  • SmartCARE™, an electrocardiogram solution

The project, led by SecurMEDIC, will evaluate the SmartCARE™ electrocardiogram solution, a connected device that enables continuous remote cardiac monitoring of at-risk patients or those in the pre- or post–operative phase. Through secure data transmission and the detection of cardiac abnormalities, the solution enables the rapid identification of a deterioration in a patient’s health and triggers intervention when necessary. The team from NIM Intelliance – Santé Québec Nord-de-l’Île-de-Montréal – Universitaire will assess, among other things, the solution’s potential to enhance the safety and quality of home care, promote continued care at home, and reduce avoidable hospitalizations and medical visits.
Evaluation setting: Santé Québec Laurentides

  • Clinical and Operational Validation of the OvoPredict Artificial Intelligence Platform for Decision Support in In Vitro Fertilization

The project, led by Fertilys, will document the clinical and operational performance of OvoPredict, an artificial intelligence-based decision support platform for in vitro fertilization treatments. By combining clinical, biological, and embryological data, the solution generates personalized predictions to support physicians and embryologists in their decision-making, particularly when selecting embryos with the greatest potential for development. The team from NIM Intelliance – Santé Québec Nord-de-l’Île-de-Montréal – Universitaire will evaluate the platform’s performance and its integration into clinical practices. The project will thus measure its potential to improve treatment effectiveness and the patient experience in fertility care.
Evaluation site: Fertilys Clinic

  • Real-World Validation of a Connected Solution to Help Prevent Pressure Ulcers in Long-Term Care

The project, proposed by Amylior, will validate Holiva SLD—a connected solution combining sensors installed on wheelchairs with an app for care teams—in real-world conditions. By tracking residents’ behavior and sending personalized reminders to staff, the solution aims to support more proactive and tailored pressure ulcer prevention. The REISD – Santé Québec Capitale-Nationale – Universitaire will evaluate the solution’s acceptability and usability by clinical teams, as well as its clinical and organizational impacts. The project will also document its integration into existing practices and its potential for broader deployment.
Evaluation setting: Santé Québec Capitale-Nationale – Universitaire

“With the announcement of this third and final round, the call for proposals under the AVISÉ program concludes with a remarkable mobilization of Quebec’s health technology ecosystem. In total, twenty-four collaborative projects were selected, enabling companies to evaluate their solutions in real-world conditions and generate the data needed to support their adoption. This enthusiasm demonstrates both the program’s relevance and the willingness of companies and partner healthcare organizations to collaborate in advancing innovations that address concrete needs. We are proud to contribute, with the support of the Government of Quebec and in collaboration with RÉIS, to bringing innovations closer to patients and healthcare professionals, while strengthening the capacity of Quebec companies to navigate the steps leading to market.” — Annie-Kim Gilbert, Ph.D., President and CEO, MEDTEQ+

What is the Health Evaluation and Innovation Network (RÉIS)?

RÉIS is a network of specialized healthcare institutions that collaborate with health technology companies in Quebec (Santé Québec Capitale-Nationale – Universitaire – REISD, Santé Québec – Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal, Santé Québec Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal – Universitaire, Santé Québec Centre-Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal – Universitaire – OROT, Santé Québec Nord-de-l’Île-de-Montréal – Universitaire et Santé Québec Estrie – Centre hospitalier universitaire de Sherbrooke). Its mission is to validate the positioning and relevance of technologies, accelerate their development and evaluation, and facilitate their commercialization both in Quebec and beyond.

About MEDTEQ+

MEDTEQ+, a pan-Canadian industrial research and innovation consortium, is dedicated to helping healthcare technology companies bring their innovations to market, accelerate economic growth and contribute to improving the health of the population. Through its unique expertise and collaborative approach, MEDTEQ+ offers support services across the innovation continuum, validation and integration of technological solutions in real- life environments, financing and networking with key ecosystem partners to accelerate the commercialization of innovative healthcare technologies. MEDTEQ+ also supports the envisAGE initiative, which aims to catalyze the AgeTech ecosystem and stimulate technological development in supporting aging. MEDTEQ+ relies, among others, on financial support from the Government of Quebec, the Government of Canada, the private sector and complementary partners to foster research and industry relations.
www.medteq.ca

SOURCE:

MEDTEQ+
Josée Laflamme, Communication Director, MEDTEQ+, josee.laflamme@medteq.ca  
Emma Lesenechal, Communication Coordinator, MEDTEQ+, emma.lesenechal@medteq.ca