Mar 27, 2018 | Axem Neurotechnology Inc., News
See original article here
Halifax-based Axem Neurotechnology is attending the HAX Accelerator in Shenzhen, China, where it plans to complete the prototype of its device, which enhances mental training for athletes.
The company’s co-founders, Tony Ingram and Chris Friesen, are now at Hax, the world’s largest hardware accelerator, as they prepare to begin beta-testing in Canada.
The two PhD students in neuroscience from Dalhousie University are building a wearable device that measures brain activity to help athletes improve the mental aspects of their game.
“We’re also exploring the rehabilitation market,” Ingram, the CEO of Axem, said in an interview. “We think it would provide a lot of value, like for stroke rehab and many other types of rehab, mostly neurological because we measure the brain.”
Axem’s device sits on top of your head, almost like a headband, and records brain activity and function. Its purpose is to allow users to “mentally train” for physical tasks and improve motor function. The device will also connect to a mobile app, which is being built at HAX.
It will still be a while before Axem has its device ready for manufacture but the 14-week accelerator is helping it rapidly develop the prototype.
“In Canada, when we were working on our prototype it would take a couple of weeks to get something like a circuit board,” said Ingram. “It was just a bottleneck. We’d try to fill our time with other stuff, but here it’s just better for rapid prototyping and iteration. You get through more tests and get answers quicker.”
For companies developing complex hardware and software, like Axem, China is the ideal place.
“If you need a part, you don’t need to order it. You basically just go downstairs and find it. There are vendors all over the place.”
HAX is backed by SOSV, a global venture capital firm with $300 million under management. The accelerator offers up to $100,000 in seed funding, mentorship and office and lab space for its participants.
Taking part in HAX builds on the momentum Axem gained in 2017. Late last year the startup was awarded $50,000 as winners of Innovacorp’s Spark Innovation and also became a resident company with Volta Labs in September. Ingram also said Axem received funds from the National Research Council’s Industrial Research Assistance Program, or IRAP.
Ingram says Axem will tackle markets in sports training and is penning letters of intent with professional sports teams, though he declined to name them. In the fall, Ingram and Friesen plan to be more focused on raising investment.
“We got our working prototype running before we got here,” said Ingram. “The Halifax ecosystem was instrumental in that, and has been so supportive of us.”
“While we’re here in China, we’re not just doing product development; we’re meeting people and doing business development.”
Ingram said Axem is looking into the clinical applications of the technology and the subsequent regulatory requirements they would have to meet in the medical device market.]]>
Mar 26, 2018 | Axem Neurotechnology Inc., News
See original article here
Halifax-based Axem Neurotechnology is attending the HAX Accelerator in Shenzhen, China, where it plans to complete the prototype of its device, which enhances mental training for athletes.
The company’s co-founders, Tony Ingram and Chris Friesen, are now at Hax, the world’s largest hardware accelerator, as they prepare to begin beta-testing in Canada.
The two PhD students in neuroscience from Dalhousie University are building a wearable device that measures brain activity to help athletes improve the mental aspects of their game.
“We’re also exploring the rehabilitation market,” Ingram, the CEO of Axem, said in an interview. “We think it would provide a lot of value, like for stroke rehab and many other types of rehab, mostly neurological because we measure the brain.”
Axem’s device sits on top of your head, almost like a headband, and records brain activity and function. Its purpose is to allow users to “mentally train” for physical tasks and improve motor function. The device will also connect to a mobile app, which is being built at HAX.
It will still be a while before Axem has its device ready for manufacture but the 14-week accelerator is helping it rapidly develop the prototype.
“In Canada, when we were working on our prototype it would take a couple of weeks to get something like a circuit board,” said Ingram. “It was just a bottleneck. We’d try to fill our time with other stuff, but here it’s just better for rapid prototyping and iteration. You get through more tests and get answers quicker.”
For companies developing complex hardware and software, like Axem, China is the ideal place.
“If you need a part, you don’t need to order it. You basically just go downstairs and find it. There are vendors all over the place.”
HAX is backed by SOSV, a global venture capital firm with $300 million under management. The accelerator offers up to $100,000 in seed funding, mentorship and office and lab space for its participants.
Taking part in HAX builds on the momentum Axem gained in 2017. Late last year the startup was awarded $50,000 as winners of Innovacorp’s Spark Innovation and also became a resident company with Volta Labs in September. Ingram also said Axem received funds from the National Research Council’s Industrial Research Assistance Program.
Ingram says Axem will tackle markets in sports training and is penning letters of intent with professional sports teams, though he declined to name them. In the fall, Ingram and Friesen plan to be more focused on raising investment.
“We got our working prototype running before we got here,” said Ingram. “The Halifax ecosystem was instrumental in that, and has been so supportive of us.”
“While we’re here in China, we’re not just doing product development; we’re meeting people and doing businesses development.”
Ingram said Axem is looking into the clinical applications of the technology and the subsequent regulatory requirements they would have to meet in the medical device market.]]>
Mar 22, 2018 | Uncategorized
Download the PowerPoints from the presentation
Kim Ryel Canadian Trade Commissions (PowerPoint)
California Life Sciences Industry Overview 2018 (PowerPoint)
Supporting Documents
About OCTANe (one page summary)
OCTANe Impact Report 2017
LNGLS Life Sciences Industry Overview 2018]]>
Mar 15, 2018 | ADDText, News
See original story here
Life can be a roller coaster ride for just about everyone on earth, but for young people in their transition to post secondary life, it can be even more challenging. For people with ADHD or learning disabilities the challenges mount up even bigger.
When some people reach out for help they monopolize the time of friends and loved ones, or even bestow their problem load onto someone else. Sometimes they have a therapist to talk to or a mental health professional but those all require appointments.
Now, a new startup called ADDtext.me offers on demand text-based productivity and life coaching for college students, post secondary students and people living with ADHD and learning disabilities.
ADDtext coaches are college or university students or recent graduates who have experienced the pressures that high school, college and post college life present. Their coaches receive in-house training that’s been supervised by 3 psychologists, 2 clinical social workers a 2 learning strategists.
People who need this kind of help simply text ADDme and they can get help with:
- Accountability
- Time Management
- Relationship Building
- Life Skills
- Self Esteem
- Organization
- Reducing Stress
- Self Confidence
- Communication
- Budgeting
- Funding
- Navigating Community Resources
ADDtext.me is designed to meet the demands of millennials and post millennials who need a little help and a little coaching. The text messaging means that people can seek out help with the privacy and security of their own phones. Having the service text based also means you don’t need a smart phone or an app to have 24/7 access to life and productivity coaches.
ADDtext offers a free 14 day trial for people to try out the process of talking with a counselor using their platform.
You can find out all about ADDtext at The Collision Conference in New Orleans, April 30-May 3 and online at addtext.me]]>
Mar 13, 2018 | News, Precision BioLogic
See original release
New data highlights promising performance of a new kit for use in a modified Nijmegen-Bethesda Assay
For Immediate Release: HALIFAX, March 13, 2018—Precision BioLogic, in collaboration with Roche and Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, unveiled data from the study of a new kit for a modified Nijmegen-Bethesda Assay (MNBA) at the Thrombosis & Hemostasis Societies of North America (THSNA) summit in San Diego, California last week. Recognizing the need to standardize and improve Factor VIII (FVIII) inhibitor testing for people with hemophilia A, the companies collaborated on the development of the new MNBA kit and the recent study. According to the study, the new kit shows promise for laboratories seeking a standardized inhibitor assay suitable for clinical management or multi-center clinical studies of people with hemophilia A.
The study compared FVIII inhibitor values determined using the new MNBA kit with both a chromogenic assay and a one-stage, clot-based FVIII assay. The chromogenic assay showed superior reproducibility compared to the one-stage clotting assay. In addition, the study indicated that the MNBA kit could potentially help improve the high variability in the FVIII inhibitor assay.
Based on the study results, Precision BioLogic plans to commercialize the kit and will seek clearance from regulatory authorities around the globe beginning in late 2018. The company will continue to look for other opportunities to innovate in the field of hemostasis and diagnostics.
“Precision BioLogic has been developing, manufacturing and marketing hemostasis diagnostic products for more than 25 years,” says Paul Empey, President & CEO of Precision BioLogic. “We’re excited to expand our product offerings and make a meaningful contribution that has the potential to improve the quality of life for people with hemophilia.”
In the study, the modifications to the MNBA included a heat treatment of plasma samples and substitution of FVIII deficient plasma with an albumin solution. To standardize inhibitor titer measurement, the kit was developed with the following components:
● Imidazole-buffered pooled normal plasma
● Imidazole-buffered bovine serum albumin to replace FVIII deficient plasma in the Nijmegen assay
● Positive FVIII inhibitor control
● FVIII inhibitor-free human plasma
All kit components were frozen, similar to Precision BioLogic’s line of CRYOcheck™ diagnostic products, which closely resemble frozen patient samples. Frozen plasma samples from people with hemophilia A with a history of FVIII inhibitors and from normal donors were used in the study.
A poster of the study, Performance of a New Kit for a Modified Nijmegen-Bethesda Assay: Comparison of a Chromogenic Versus a Clot-based Factor VIII Inhibitor Assay in Plasma from Persons with Hemophilia A (PwHA), can be downloaded from the Precision BioLogic website.
About Hemophilia A and Inhibitors
Hemophilia A is an inherited bleeding disorder caused by insufficient clotting factor VIII (FVIII) in the blood. People with hemophilia A experience prolonged bleeding, which can lead to permanent joint damage and life-threatening hemorrhages. The standard treatment for people with hemophilia A without inhibitors is intravenous (IV) FVIII replacement therapy with recombinant FVIII (rFVIII) or plasma-derived FVIII (pdFVIII) concentrates. Prophylaxis, the regular infusion of clotting factor concentrates, is used to prevent bleeds thereby minimizing joint damage.
Unfortunately, up to 30% of people with hemophilia A develop inhibitors, an immune response to treatment with clotting factor concentrates. Inhibitors make it more difficult to manage and treat hemophilia. In fact, according to the World Federation of Hemophilia, apart from access to care and treatment, inhibitors are the most serious challenge in hemophilia care today.1 While routine blood tests may suggest the presence of inhibitors, specialized testing is important to confirm not only the presence of inhibitors but also the quantitation to effectively adjust treatment. Current methods for inhibitor testing vary from lab to lab and there is not an FDA-cleared gold standard for reference.
About Precision BioLogic
Precision BioLogic is a privately-held company that develops, manufactures and markets specialized products used by medical professionals and researchers around the globe to diagnose coagulation disorders. Precision BioLogic also has several active initiatives with pharmaceutical partners who seek to ensure that the diagnostic implications for their novel therapeutic agents have been well characterized.
For more information, visit www.precisionbiologic.com.
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For more information, contact:
Elaine Benoit, Marketing & Communications Manager
Precision BioLogic
[email protected]
902.430.7795
1 World Federation of Hemophilia. Current issues in inhibitors. Available at https://www.wfh.org/en/Current-issues-in-inhibitors. Accessed on February 22, 2018.]]>
