Vancouver, British Columbia [March 12, 2021] – Canada’s Digital Technology Supercluster (‘Digital Supercluster’) is excited to announce its latest investment in the Workplace Brain Health Platform.
The workplace can be fast paced, competitive and, at times, stressful, impacting our productivity and cognitive functions like learning, reasoning and decision-making. Workplace stress has been compounded during COVID-19, with 59% of Canadians juggling working from home with multiple other responsibilities. Providing reliable and confidential access to high quality mental health services can help Canadians whether they are working from home or at the frontlines.
Toronto-based Interaxon, with its leading consumer electroencephalogram (EEG) platform, is leading the Workplace Brain Health Platform in collaboration with Cambridge Brain Sciences, Hatch and The Brain and Mind Institute at Western University. This platform aims to understand how sleep, meditation and other positive lifestyle factors contribute to our overall brain health and well-being. A total of $2M will be invested, $1.2M of the investment will come from industry and a further $871K will be co-invested through the Digital Supercluster. The platform is ready to expand and help employees live more balanced, sustainable lives. As industries begin to look at how best to minimize risk to the health and safety of their employees, technology like this will be key.
This platform will assess the degree of impact new resources will have in helping employees improve cognitive performance and mental well-being via brain sensing electroencephalogram technology, guided meditation with biofeedback, sleep monitoring and assistance programs, and cognitive behavioral assessments. A 6-week meditation program with companion coaching is being offered to the employees of Canadian-based global engineering, project management, and professional services firm, Hatch, whose engineering and design services consistently prioritize the safety and mental wellness of their clients, their staff, and others in their work and need to perform at their best.
“As Canadians continue to adjust to the evolving conditions presented by COVID-19, including challenges created by COVID related actions that are impacting mental health and wellness, we must protect the health and safety of Canadians. Our Supercluster’s collaborative innovation model allows innovations such as the “Workplace Brain Health Platform”, to come to life and start supporting Canadians. The Workplace Brain Health Platform will help businesses open or re-open with healthy employees while also positioning Canada as a global leader in digital innovations” said Sue Paish, CEO of the Digital Technology Supercluster.
“Our Government is committed to protecting the health and safety of workers at home and on the frontlines. The COVID-19 pandemic has been challenging on the mental health of Canadians, and as we work toward a strong and resilient economic recovery, it is important to optimize the health and well-being of our workforce across industries. The Workplace Brain Health Platform is a great example of how Canada’s Digital Technology Supercluster is bringing key players together from across sectors to improve the lives of Canadians,” said the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry.
“The pandemic has accelerated the demand for digital health technologies, and Interaxon is proud to lead the development of next-generation medical products” said Dr. Walter Greenleaf, Chief Science Officer at Interaxon. “Our long-term vision with the Workplace Brain Health Platform, is to develop a repository of data related to sleep and meditation. This can then be leveraged toward a variety of machine learning applications that can help employers and employees better understand the impacts to cognitive function and support the enhancement of cognitive performance.”
Media Inquiries: For more information, please contact Elysa Darling at edarling@digitalsupercluster.ca or 587-890-9833. For media assets, click here. Interview opportunities with Sue Paish, CEO, Digital Technology Supercluster, are available upon request.
About Digital Technology Supercluster:
The Digital Technology Supercluster solves some of industry and society’s biggest problems through Canadian-made technologies. We bring together private and public sector organizations of all sizes to address challenges facing Canada’s economic sectors including healthcare, natural resources, manufacturing, and transportation. Through this ‘collaborative innovation,’ the Supercluster helps to drive solutions better than any single organization could on its own. The Digital Technology Supercluster is led by industry leaders such as D-Wave, LifeLabs, LlamaZOO, Lululemon, MDA, Microsoft, Mosaic Forest Management, Sanctuary AI, Teck Resources Limited, TELUS, Terramera, and 1Qbit. Together, we work to position Canada as a global hub for digital innovation. A full list of Members can be found here.
About the Technology Leadership Program:
The Supercluster delivers three technology programs to enable wide-scale adoption of digital transformation platforms in key industrial segments and develop and commercialize new products, services and platforms. The suite of technology programs includes: Precision Health Program, Data Commons Program, and Digital Twins Program. These programs are core to the Supercluster securing Canada’s global leadership in digital innovation, and securing social and economic benefits for Canadians. Media backgrounder here.