Baycrest

Innovation Engine bringing great ideas to life As a world-leading academic health sciences centre focused on aging and brain health, Baycrest is fertile ground for producing and validating new and innovative products and services aimed at improving care delivery across the continuum and enhancing the health and well-being of older adults. Design thinking A key part of the new organizational structure, the Baycrest Innovation Engine is taking the most promising ideas that emerge from Baycrest Health Sciences (BHS) and developing them as care models, supportive technologies and evidence-based approaches for the prevention, early diagnosis, rehabilitation and treatment of age-related disorders. brain fitness The Innovation Engine is a bridge between BHS and the new company we have launched to commercialize and bring to the international marketplace our innovations in aging, including breakthrough technologies, systems, products, processes and new knowledge. Working with partners, the company will respond to the growing need for solutions to the challenges associated with a rapidly aging global population. In so doing, it will provide a new and ongoing source of revenue (in addition to government and philanthropic funding) to sustain Baycrest Health Sciences well into the future. The Baycrest Innovation Engine has three components: • Aging Innovation and Technology Laboratory • Centre for Brain Fitness • Kunin-Lunenfeld Applied and Evaluative Research Unit (KLAERU) In a process known as design thinking, the Aging Innovation and Technology Laboratory brings together scientists, engineers, architects, designers, clinicians and health-care consumers to inform, evaluate and develop new products, technologies and processes that enable successful aging at home and improve the care environment within the institutional setting. This year, the laboratory has appointed a designer-in-residence and an artistin-residence, and has explored best practices in design laboratories with other leading organizations. The Centre for Brain Fitness (CBF) serves as a catalyst for the commercialization of evidence-based technologies and interventions aimed at early detection and prevention of aging-related memory decline, repair and rehabilitation of function. To that end, CBF scientists and clinicians work with entrepreneurs to develop and market life-changing products and services. The first two entrepreneurs came on board this year, working on three projects over six months to build commercialization plans and explore market opportunities. One diagnostic prototype is INCAS, a computer tablet testing platform for conducting neurological assessments of patients. The tablet-based interface is convenient for both clinicians and patients and allows for more accurate and timely assessment of cognitive function. In the brain training field, Dr. Sylvain Moreno, a lead scientist at the CBF, is developing a "virtual game" product to improve intelligence, memory, decisionmaking, reaction time, attention and language skills. continued on page 19 2010/11 Baycrest and Baycrest Foundation Annual Report 17

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