TORONTO, ONTARIO – July 6th, 2020 – Drone Delivery Canada Corp. (TSXV: FLT;   OTC: TAKOF;  Frankfurt:  A2AMGZ or ABB.F) (the “Company” or “DDC”) is pleased to announce that on June 26th, 2020 it successfully completed Phase Two of its AED (Automated External Defibrillator) On The Fly project with Peel Region Paramedics and Sunnybrook Centre for Prehospital Medicine. Building on the success of Phase One of the study, the Company was able to demonstrate ease of use of its AED drone solution when provided to community responders in a simulated cardiac arrest scenario. The testing further validates that using DDC’s proprietary drone delivery platform with cargo drop functionality to deliver rapid first responder technology via drone may reduce response time to cardiac arrest patients in the field while being utilized by lay responders. On June 26th, 2019, the Company had announced a 100% successful Phase One of the project.  Phase Two utilized the Sparrow, with the new cargo drop capability and a new audio announcement system, to drop an AED where a designated lay bystander would then retrieve the AED and apply it to a simulated cardiac arrest patient in a rural environment.  Multiple pairs of lay bystanders and simulated cardiac arrest patients...

London, ON, May 12, 2020 ⁠— CANet is pleased to announce its renewed federal funding of $15.7 million over three years (totalling $42 million for 2014-23) from the Networks of Excellence of Canada (NCE). With over $46+ million in matching funds from partners to date, this support will enable our network to continue its digital transformation activities, technology development and commercialization, and advancements in arrhythmia research. A patient-driven network, CANet has provided research funding through several granting programs designed to impact the lives of people living with arrhythmias.  Through the network’s investments, CANet Investigators have: Developed a cloud-based, secured, virtual care platform, VIRTUES (Virtual Integrated Reliable Transformative User-Driven E-Health System), which is being used in clinical research to show its usability, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness. Collaborated with Baylis Medical to develop a new transseptal system for patients suffering from heart failure, which is now in production with clearance from Health Canada and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Collaborated with Drone Delivery Canada for the implementation of drone delivery of automated external defibrillators (AED’s) in rural areas. Developed a catheter contact-force controller (CFC) device that adjusts the catheter position and contact force which will significantly improve ablation procedures. Developed the Canadian...

Halifax, NS, May 11, 2020 – Remote Patient Management for Cardiac Implantable Electronic Devices (RPM-CIED), a national randomized controlled study, consisting of over two-thousand patients in 12 sites across Canada, has launched in Calgary, AB, Halifax, NS, Kitchener, ON, and Quebec City, QC. This program focuses on patient care with remote management of implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICD) and pacemakers and the efficiency, effectiveness, and safety of CANet’s VIRTUES care platform. VIRTUES will facilitate the remote-only environment of this study. Approximately 120,000 Canadian patients live with either a pacemaker or ICD. These patients are required to visit a cardiac device clinic at least once a year. The unmet need for patients with ICD’s and pacemakers to improve follow up methods outside of a clinical environment was recognized before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. “In our pilot work, we found that a remote-only approach was safe and feasible. We also found that 91% of patients desire communication from their clinic regarding their device,” says Dr. Ratika Parkash, CANet Network Investigator, Electrophysiologist at Halifax’s QEII Health Sciences Centre, and Professor at Dalhousie University. “This is not currently happening in the majority of clinics in Canada, “she adds. Although remote monitoring for CIEDs has been...

Toronto ON, December 16, 2019 – With the Cardiac Arrhythmia Network of Canada (CANet®) group of investigators leading ground-breaking arrhythmia health research and technology advancements, our Network is challenging startups to highlight their innovations at the inaugural CANet® Shift competition. Here’s your opportunity to showcase your innovation and win $200,000! Canadian health technology startups will go head-to-head, showcasing their technology during the CANet® Annual Public Forum at the TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto, ON, on February 4, 2020. Three video submission finalists will be selected to present their innovations and ground-breaking solutions, in a 5-minute pitch, to our group of renowned researchers, industry leaders, venture capitalists, and, most importantly, our patient-filled audience. Does your startup have what it takes? “With the prominent growth of Digital Health innovations and its impact on healthcare, it is imperative to propel technologies that support and saves patients’ lives,” says Dr. Anthony Tang, CEO and Scientific Director, CANet. “Our goals align with supporting technology advancements surrounding arrhythmia research and management to provide efficient and effective patient-focused care.” Visit www.canetshift.com to submit your application and learn more about this exciting event. The deadline for the CANet® Shift applications closes on January 17, 2020.   About CANet®...

TORONTO, NOVEMBER 5, 2019 – A randomized controlled trial has found that use of Baylis Medical’s NRG® Transseptal Needle results in shorter time in achieving transseptal access, less transseptal attempts, and reduced exposure to radiation, compared to use of a conventional transseptal needle. The study, entitled Randomized Trial of Conventional Versus Radiofrequency Needle Transseptal Puncture for Cryoballoon Ablation (the CRYO-LATS Study), was presented at the recent Transcatheter Therapeutics Conference (TCT) in San Francisco, by Dr. Jason Andrade, Director of Cardiac Electrophysiology at the Vancouver General Hospital. The study was a multicenter prospective, single-blind, randomized controlled trial (RCT), in which 135 patients with symptomatic paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) underwent pulmonary vein isolation using a novel large bore cryoballoon system. Researchers performed a transseptal puncture using either a conventional transseptal needle requiring mechanical force to cross the septum, or the NRG needle, which uses radiofrequency (RF) energy for crossing. Researchers found that the median transseptal puncture time using the NRG needle was significantly shorter. Further, use of the NRG needle resulted in fewer attempts to puncture the septum than with the conventional needle. Researchers also observed a trend for lower exposure to radiation for the patient and catheterization lab staff in cases...

“I am always looking for ways to help patients with atrial fibrillation lead full lives,” says Dr. Jason Andrade, University of British Columbia Cardiology Professor. He is currently leading a CANet-funded project, ‘Early Invasive vs. Delayed Intervention for Atrial Fibrillation’ which explores the first line of treatment for atrial fibrillation (AF). AF, a heart rhythm disorder, results in rapid, irregular heartbeats. Patients are at a greater risk for stroke and death. “We have pretty good information on how to manage atrial fibrillation at its later stages,” Andrade says, “but can we intervene sooner to improve outcomes?” Andrade’s quest for an improved, more rapid treatment for AF might just come down to a matter of when to intervene. He has teamed up with CANet’s industry partners Baylis and Medtronic CryoCath. Medtronic has developed a revolutionary new technology to advance AF treatment, Medtronic’s Cryoablation Catheter freezes and destroys the faulty cardiac tissues. “This is a major advance in the interventional treatment of AF, and a significant Canadian accomplishment,” Andrade says. Importantly, it reduces the patient’s dependence on antiarrhythmic drugs (AADs), which are often ineffective, and can have severe side-effects such as organ toxicity. CANet’s industry partnerships, such as with Medtronic, demonstrate the...

Look once. Look twice. Look again. Drs. Frank Prato and Allan Skanes are taking no chances when it comes to improving atrial fibrillation (AF) therapies. The CANet Investigators and professors of Medicine at Western University is putting faulty heart tissues – one of the main culprits of AF – under microscopes, MRIs, X-rays, nuclear medicine procedures and myriad other imaging technologies to develop “a clear, rational approach to selecting the right kind of treatment for AF patients.” In doing so, they are helping provide effective, efficient and accessible arrhythmia care in Canada and worldwide, all critical CANet targets. Cardiac tissues called atria generate electric signals that subsequently produce heartbeats. Diseased tissues and/or faulty electric signals result in rapid, irregular heartbeats – or atrial fibrillation – with frequent symptoms of chest pain, shortness of breath, light-headedness, and palpitations. Their pioneering project Atrial Image-guided Decision to Optimize Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation (AID-AF) scrutinizes diseased atria through a battery of medical imaging techniques utilizing, for example, microscopy, x-rays, and MRI. It also studies, among other things, those faulty electric signals. In other words, they are looking at AF repeatedly, in a variety of ways. “This more accurate understanding will help doctors pick the...

“When our employees see technology being used to help patients, it gives us strong motivation to work harder and stronger,” says Kris Shah, President of Baylis Medical. A few months ago, CANet investigator and Western University Medicine professor Peter Leong-Sit became the world’s first physician to use a pioneering medical device developed and manufactured by Baylis to make atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation procedures safer and more effective. The procedure was a success. “That event helped lift the entire company to a new level,” Shah remembers fondly. For almost three decades, Baylis, located in Mississauga, Ontario, has developed and distributed state-of-the-art medical products in Canada and across the world. When CANet launched in 2015, it sought out organizations that shared the Network’s vision – to significantly improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and accessibility of arrhythmia care delivery in Canada and around the world. Baylis fit the bill. “We are very fortunate to be associated with CANet since inception,” Shah says. “As a result of our strong association with CANet, we feel our company has grown at a much faster rate than we otherwise would have. It created a number of meaningful jobs in Ontario, as well as helped deploy our technology on...

Fainting, also known as syncope, is the sudden loss of consciousness. In most cases, fainting is not dangerous – unless it is complicated by a fall or other injury – and the person recovers quickly. In some cases, however, fainting can be an indicator that something is wrong with the heart and that blood is not being pumped properly. During pregnancy in particular, a woman’s body undergoes a lot of changes. These include hormonal changes, an increase in the amount of blood in the body, changes to the structure of the heart and in heart rate. These can make pregnant women more likely to experience dizziness and fainting. However, most of the information about fainting during pregnancy is anecdotal; we don’t really know how often it occurs and whether it has any consequences for the health of the child or the mother. My colleagues and I therefore decided to answer these questions using a large cohort of almost 500,000 womenwho gave birth in the Canadian province of Alberta over a 10-year period between 2005 and 2014. This study is part of a larger program of research being conducted at the Canadian VIGOUR Centre (CVC) at the University of Alberta – to develop a Canadian Syncope Atlas....

Researchers in Ontario are attempting to figure out how to deliver life-saving medical supplies in record times by answering a simple question with profound implications: Can an ambulance or a drone reach the scene of a medical emergency faster? To test this, medical personnel simulated a cardiac arrest emergency in a rural area north of Toronto last month in order to see if an ambulance or a drone would reach the pretend patient first. The pilot project’s tests began with a mock 911 call and the dispatch of an ambulance from the Region of Peel’s EMS headquarters in Brampton, Ont. At the same time, a remotely controlled drone carrying an automated external defibrillator (AED) took to the skies from a nearby industrial park. Researchers in Ontario are attempting to figure out how to deliver life-saving medical supplies in record times by answering a simple question with profound implications: Can an ambulance or a drone reach the scene of a medical emergency faster? To test this, medical personnel simulated a cardiac arrest emergency in a rural area north of Toronto last month in order to see if an ambulance or a drone would reach the pretend patient first. The pilot project’s...