Past Winner
2018 NSERC Synergy Awards for Innovation

In healthcare environments, nearly every activity revolves around the patient’s bed. Despite their central importance, hospital beds often fail to address the needs of both patients and healthcare workers. Innovative engineers from the Solutions Novika centre, based at Cégep de La Pocatière, teamed up with industry partners from Umano Medical, who have market expertise, to develop the next generation of hospital beds. Their powerful Quebec-based collaboration has been fruitful with innovative materials that are easier to clean and disinfect, bed exit detection systems and high-precision scales, as well as several ergonomic improvements that facilitate the work of caregivers and reduce the chance of falls for patients. Each of these innovations was developed in collaboration with healthcare workers from Cégep de la Pocatière, who provide real-world insights about the needs of patients and caregivers. Together, this dynamic team has delivered a procession of innovations to create a versatile hospital bed that is being eagerly adopted by medical facilities around the world.

For additional information or to request photos of NSERC Prize Winners, please contact Media Relations.