Forest Devices Launches Collaboration With Alberta Health Services
Medical technology pioneer Forest Devices, Inc. (FDI) today announced a commitment to improve healthcare delivery for stroke patients in Alberta, forming a collaboration with Alberta Health Services (AHS) to evaluate and test technologies that can improve patient outcomes and health system performance by empowering emergency first responders to make informed decisions regarding care for stroke patients.
FDI’s stroke diagnostic platform, AlphaStroke, is the first technology that supports paramedics and other medical first responders in identifying stroke in the field so they can make the best triage decisions for patients.
In Alberta, two comprehensive stroke hospitals and approximately 500 ambulances serve a population of over four million people living in over 650,000 square kilometers. The AHS/FDI collaboration was enabled by way of the Prehospital Stroke Diagnostics Project, which was created by AHS in 2019 with the aim of testing an innovative solution that increases the accuracy and speed of prehospital diagnosis of stroke. The project team assessed 14 technologies and ultimately determined that AlphaStroke, and the vision of FDI, aligned most closely with the objectives of AHS and worth testing in real world settings.
Annually, stroke accounts for thousands of hospitalizations in Alberta and costs over $400 million. Every minute a stroke goes untreated, 2 million neurons die. Faster and more accurate prehospital diagnosis presents the opportunity to save time and brain.
FDI CEO and Co-founder, Matt Kesinger, added “The partnership between AHS and FDI has created an exciting opportunity to expand and accelerate the development and deployment of our innovative stroke diagnostic technology. AHS has been a global leader in stroke care innovation for decades, and this collaboration represents an unparalleled opportunity to improve outcomes for patients, their families, and health systems across the world.”
“I want to commend Forest Devices, Inc. for choosing Alberta. Our province has a dynamic healthcare innovation ecosystem – and being recognized for our talent and expertise is a huge win that will spur future developments across multiple sectors of the economy. This supports our government’s strategic focus to strengthen economic development through innovation, and I look forward to what’s in store for the future,” said Tanya Fir, Alberta’s Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Tourism.
“This is our second collaboration with the Impact, Innovation & Evidence team at AHS. They have become a critical investment attraction and innovation ecosystem partner, with a demand/pull driven strategy, and an open-minded, collaborative approach.” – Christy Pierce, CEO, New West Networks – Calgary and San Francisco based team supporting the efforts of Alberta’s Economic Development, Trade & Tourism Department.
