The 8th Annual McGill Clinical Innovation Competition and Awards Ceremony took place on May 21, 2025.
Congratulations to all of our finalists!
Click here to watch a video recording of the event, Click here for photos of the event.
Winner of the Hakim Family Innovation Prize
Qalam Health Solutions
Qalam Health is revolutionizing bone cancer diagnostics with Osteoprobe, a real-time, label-free intraoperative tool that integrates advanced imaging spectroscopy to distinguish cancerous from healthy bone tissue intraoperatively. By enhancing surgical precision and reducing recurrence rates, our innovation sets a new standard in precision orthopedic oncology, improving patient outcomes, reducing deaths from relapse, saving healthcare costs from readmissions and advancing surgical workflow.
Haitham Shoman - MD, MPH, SM, GDBA, CHE, PhD - Founder and CEO
Maryam Ejaz - BSc, MSc, DMD(c) - Research Coordinator
Kalin Kahla - BSc, MSc, MA - People and Culture Manager
Winner of the Marika Zelenka Roy Innovation Prize
Electromagnetic Medical Technologies Lab
VesiTrack is a wearable, non-invasive device for spinal cord-injured patients who cannot void their bladder independently. It features ultra-thin, flexible antennas that emit and receive microwave signals to measure bladder fullness. The device then alerts users via a mobile app or smartwatch, offering continuous, discreet, proactive monitoring.
Eleonora Razzicchia, Postdoctoral Fellow, Biomedical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, McGill University & Cancer Research Program, RI-MUHC
Emily Porter, Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering, McGill University & Cancer Research Program, RI-MUHC
Lysanne Campeau, MDCM, PhD, FRCSC, Associate Professor, Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, Jewish General Hospital, Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, McGill University
Winner of the Smart & Biggar Innovation Prize
MiniGyn
MiniGyn's mission is to improve gynecological care by reducing pain during procedures like IUD insertions. Current tools, such as the Pozzi Clamp, are outdated and cause discomfort. MiniGyn offers an innovative, atraumatic stabilization mechanism that ensures a secure grip while minimizing pain, making reproductive health care more accessible and comfortable for women.
Claire Phan , Co-Founder and CEO, M.Eng, Former Surgical Innovation SIS graduate student, McGill Univeristy
Julie Bertucceli, Co-Founder and CSO, M.Eng
Winner of the Pediatrics Innovation Prize
PhantasiAI
PhantasiAI develops a portable electronic companion to restore mobility of paralytic patients through personalized, adaptive, AI-powered non-invasive neurostimulation. Our first mission is to rekindle pediatric patients' motor function with assisting AI agents that analyze, suggest, and generate tailored treatments embedded in affordable hardware. Thus, our companion enhances neuromuscular control by 500000% compared to other players, supports mobility neurotherapy adherence by 50%, and reduces the outpatient costs from the healthcare system by 70%, because it accelerates neural rewiring and promotes at-home rehab.
Roberto Felipe Salamanca-Giron, Eng. PhD, Founder of PhantasiAI, Ivado's Postdoc Entrepreneur at Mila, SCS McGill University
Marie-Hélène Boudrias, PT PhD, Board member & Advisor professor, School of Physical & Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University
Winner of the Pediatrics Innovation Prize
Pnina Brodt and Livia
Ewing Sarcoma (ES) is a pediatric cancer that affects children and young adults. Current treatment can achieve cure, but many children relapse, and relapses are often fatal. Dr. Pnina Brodt and her team developed a novel IGF-Trap that can block the IGF-axis and cancer growth. They propose to test its efficacy in clinically relevant Human derived ES models developed by Dr. Livia Garzia and optimize a clinical-grade IGF-Trap in preparation for transitioning it to clinical trials.
Dr. Pnina Brodt, Professor and Senior Scientist, Departments of Surgery, Oncology and Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences McGill University and RI-MUHC
Dr. Livia Garzia, Assoc. Professor and Principal Investigator, Dept of Surgery, Division of Orthopedic Surgery, McGill University and the Cancer Research Program, RI-MUHC
Ms. Stephanie Perrino, Senior Animal Technologist RI MUHC (Brodt lab)
Dr. Qin Yang, Senior Research Associate RI MUHC (Brodt Lab)
Masoumeh Aghababazadeh, Ph.D. Student (Garzia Lab)
Zeinab Abbaszadeh, Research Assistant (Garzia Lab)
Winner of the Marika Zelenka Roy Simnovation Prize
Differential
Differential is an interactive virtual simulation tool that guides medical students step-by-step through realistic clinical cases—from history and physical, to investigations and diagnosis—building core diagnostic reasoning in a gamified, feedback-rich environment. Scalable, accessible, and aligned with the Medical Council of Canada's objectives, it empowers learners to think like clinicians before ever entering the hospital, and allows for continuous refinement of diagnostic skills beyond.
Aymen Sahal MDCM (c), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University
Saad Razzaq MDCM, MSc., Gr.Dip, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University
Andrei Khramstov MDCM (c), B.Eng, B.A, McGill University
Winner of the Raab Student Innovation Prize
PAin+
PAin+ is an AI powered journaling tool that transforms subjective pain experiences into actionable clinical insights, bridging the gap between chronic pain patients and healthcare providers. This cloud-based platform seeks to revolutionize pain management and patient-clinician communication.
Hannah Derue, PhD Candidate, Neuroscience (Laboratories of Dr. Alfredo Ribeiro-da-Silva and Dr. Jeffrey S. Mogil), Alan Edwards Centre for Research on Pain, McGill University
Julien Hovan, MSc. Student, Data Science, University of Michigan
Patrick Chen, U2 Undergraduate Student, Bachelor’s of Electrical Engineering, McGill University
Congratulations to our Finalist teams
Phoela Health inc.
Phoela Health Inc. has developed a portable, low-cost CMOS-based biosensor for rapid, strain-specific bacterial detection. Unlike conventional ATP-based methods, our device identifies harmful pathogens in real time (within 15 seconds) at 100× lower cost, reducing hospital-acquired infections and enhancing food safety. This innovation empowers health professionals with instant contamination insights, improving patient safety and infection control.
Reza Abbasi, Postdoctoral Fellow, Lead Entrepreneur
Sebastian Wachsmann-Hogiu Professor, Scientific Advisor
Xinyue Hu, Ph.D. Student, Marketing Specialist
Sononurse VS
DVI-Stat is a groundbreaking solution designed to prevent medication errors and enhance patient safety in healthcare settings. Developed by SonoNurse VS, DVI-Stat is an innovative cognitive aid designed to prevent medication errors at the point of care, particularly in high-pressure environments such as operating rooms, emergency departments, and during medical transportation. It enables rapid double verification of medications directly at the patient’s bedside, without disrupting clinical workflow. It offers direct reading of vial labels and immediate visual warnings in case of mismatch. Designed for fast administration and stress-free dose calculation, DVI-Stat is fully offline, requires no data storage, and integrates effortlessly onto existing carts, even in the tightest spaces. Its compact design also makes it ideal for mobile settings such as ambulances and medical transport, where space is limited and speed is critical. With its intuitive interface and ability to sharpen clinical focus, DVI-Stat automates secure check control when speed and safety are essential, making every dose safer, and every second count.
Dr. Yahia Zine, Anesthesiologist, CEO & Founder of SonoNurse VS
Alejandro Olivares, B.Eng, Lead Software Developer
Samuel Poulin, CPI, M.Sc.A , Project Manager
Samuel Grégoire, Software Developer
Renata Ter, Full Stack Developer
Eliott Chéry, B.Eng, R&D Engineering and Ambassador
Wafa Zellouf, B.Eng , Ambassador and Technical Support
Sarah Zine, Ambassador
Sonia Sahki, B.Eng, Administration and Ambassador
Omar Ali , Ambassador
Marie-Hélène Bouchard, B.Pharm, M.Sc, Pharmacist
Stéphanie Rochon, B.Pharm, M.Sc , Pharmacist
Célia Moisand, Mechanical Designer
Cathy Lê, Financial Analyst
David-Alexandre Morin, Intensive Care Nurse