Health Innovation Lab ready for applicants

The Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute has launched the Health Innovation Lab, a three-year, $10-million initiative with the Government of Alberta. The provincial support comes from the ministries of Technology and Innovation, Primary and Preventative Health Services, and Hospital and Surgical Health Services. Amii will offer its expertise in AI and machine learning to help develop and accelerate healthcare solutions for Alberta in the lab. Applications are open until Sept. 28, with an information session set for Sept. 8.

Three funding tiers are open for up to 12 projects per year during the run: up to $50,000 for early-stage projects under the Discovery Sprints banner; up to $100,000 for work that is ready for early development and has shown high commercial potential under the Exploratory Projects umbrella; and up to $300,000 for projects that have traction, have at least identified a healthcare partner, and are nearly market-ready under the Large Projects stream. All projects share common eligibility requirements, such as being legally registered entities based anywhere in Canada, and they must address one of three pre-defined challenges in Alberta's healthcare system: disparities in women's healthcare, chronic disease prevention management, or addressing administrative burden.

Technology and Innovation Minister Nate Glubish addressed administrative burden when he announced the Health Innovation Lab at Upper Bound in May. The announcement was part of a fireside chat with Amii CEO Cam Linke where Glubish said his office has already used AI tools to reduce bureaucracy in government work. He explored that further in August with several private-sector partners at an event dubbed the Velocity Symposium.