Health innovation in Canada has always been strong, but the sector is now experiencing growth at a pace we havent seen before.

While COVID-19 helped accelerate change, new technologies like OpenAIs ChatGPT are also having an impact. Plus, Canadian companies are leveraging machine learning to develop new therapies, diagnostics and patient platforms.

Theres a lot of really interesting drivers out there for innovation, says Jacki Jenuth, partner and chief operating officer at Lumira Ventures. Were starting to better define some of the underlying mechanisms and therapeutics approaches for diseases that up until now had no options, such as neurodegenerative diseases. And researchers are starting to define biomarkers to select patients more likely to respond in clinical settings thats really good news.

Next week, the annual MaRS Impact Health conference will bring together health care professionals, entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers and other stakeholders. Heres a sneak preview of some of the emerging trends in the health care and life sciences space theyll be exploring.

There's huge revenue opportunities in women's health, says Annie Thriault, managing partner at Cross-Border Impact Ventures. (Fryer, Tim)

Womens health funding isnt where it should be, says Annie Thriault, managing partner at Cross-Border Impact Ventures. Bayer recently announced its stopping R&D for womens health to focus on other areas. Other pharmaceutical companies such as Merck have made similar decisions in recent years. Its hard to imagine why groups are moving in that direction, because were seeing huge revenue opportunities in these markets, says Thriault. A lot of exciting things are happening.

One area that Thriault has been watching closely has been personalized medicine that uses artificial intelligence, machine learning or sophisticated algorithms to tailor treatment for women and children. For instance, there are tools that provide targeted cancer treatments that use gender as a key input. In the past, that maybe wouldnt have been thought of as an important variable, she says.

In prenatal care, there are new tools related to diagnosing anomalies in pregnancies through data. What we see in maternal health is a lot of inequalities, Thriault says. But if the exam is performed with the same level of care, accuracy, and specificity, then analyzed through AI to spot problems, you can make positive health outcomes and hopefully a less unequal health system.

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With the right protections and security measures, AI could help create efficiencies in health care, says Frank Rudzicz, a ??faculty member at the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence. (Fryer, Tim)

New technologies like ChatGPT have shown the potential of not just getting AI and machine learning to take large data sets and make sense of them, but also to create efficiencies when it comes to doing paperwork with that information.

I always thought wed get to this point, but I just didnt think wed get to here so soon where we are talking about AI really changing the nature of jobs, says Frank Rudzicz, a faculty member at the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence. And its just getting started.

There are a lot of inefficiencies in health care that AI can help with. Doctors, for instance, spend up to half their time working on medical records and filling out forms. (A recent study from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business found that collectively they are spending some 18.5 million hours on unnecessary paperwork and administrative work each year the equivalent of more than 55 million patient visits.) Thats not what they signed up for, he says. They signed up to help people.

While people are becoming more comfortable with using technology to track and monitor their health whether that be through smartwatches, smartphone apps or genetic testing there arent as many connection points for them to use that data with their family doctor. There is an opportunity, Rudzicz says, to use data and technologies such as machine learning, with proper guardrails and patient consent, to sync the data with your doctors records to help with diagnosis and prescribing.

Ultimately, doctors are trained professionals and they need to be the ones who make the diagnosis and come up with treatment plans with the patients, he says. But once you get all the pieces together, the results could be more accurate and safer than they have been.

Plus, there are a lot of possible futures for technologies like ChatGPT in health care, such as automating repetitive tasks like filling out forms or writing requisitions and referral letters for doctors to review before submitting. The barrier to entry for anything that will speed up your workflow is going to be very low and easily integrated, Rudzicz says.

While there's been a slowdown in venture capital investments, there's still funding to be found, says Jacki Jenuth, partner and chief operating officer at Lumira Ventures. (Fryer, Tim)

While theres been a slowdown in venture capital funding, with fewer dollars available as markets become more rational after the record highs of the last few years, theres still funding to be found, says Lumiras Jenuth. Management teams in the life sciences space just have to be more resourceful and explore all possible avenues of funding, including corporations, non-dilutive sources, foundations and disease specific funders, she adds.

It helps to build deep relationships with investors who want to make an impact in the health sectors, she says. The pitch needs to be targeted for each one of these groups. Youll hear a lot of nos, so you need to be tenacious. Its not easy.

Discover more of the technologies and ideas that will transform health care at the MaRS Impact Health conference on May 3 and 4.

Disclaimer This content was produced as part of a partnership and therefore it may not meet the standards of impartial or independent journalism.

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How ChatGPT might help your family doctor and other emerging health trends - Toronto Star