Novel Technology to Help Improve Wound Care in Canada Enabled Through CAN Health, Sunnybrook and MolecuLight Collaboration

Results of Clinical Integration Project of MolecuLight i:X^® Point-of-Care Imaging Device Illustrate Improved Access, Effectiveness and Efficiency of Wound Care

TORONTO, Ontario – (May 18, 2021) MolecuLight Inc., the leader in point-of-care fluorescence imaging for detection of wounds containing elevated bacterial loads, is helping to improve wound care in Canada with the only point-of-care imaging device that allows clinicians to quickly identify elevated bacterial burden in wounds. In a recent commercialization project made possible through the CAN Health Network, the MolecuLight i:X demonstrated added value to clinical decision making and improved delivery and continuity of wound care, through increased communication between the wound care team.

Wound care costs the Canadian health care system $3.9 billion annually¹ and bacterial infected wounds cost 70 percent more to treat². The presence of elevated bacterial burden slows wounds from healing³. Having a portable point-of-care device such as the MolecuLight i:X provides invaluable information in real-time to inform and support clinician decision-making.

Working in partnership with Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre’s Complex Wound Service, 26 acute and chronic wounds were monitored to understand the utility and potential of the MolecuLight device to enhance its wound care delivery across multiple sites.

The project reports the following results using the MolecuLight i:X:

• 70% increase in detection of elevated bacterial load in wounds compared to standard of care,
• 36% of clinical decisions were modified based on MolecuLight i:X images,
• Enhanced efficiency and coordination of care among multidisciplinary wound care teams at two hospital sites.

This made-in-Canada collaborative project between Sunnybrook and MolecuLight was enabled by the CAN (Coordinated Accessible National) Health Network, a federally-funded program focused on growing Canadian solutions, and supporting companies to scale across the Canadian marketplace, while strengthening the health care system. The CAN Health Network is a national partnership comprised of leading Canadian health organizations, referred to as Edges and companies across Canada. The Network works together to introduce new solutions into the health care system and pave the way for Canadian businesses to scale not only across Canada, but globally.

“Devices like MolecuLight are important tools that can support clinicians by providing additional information to their clinical assessment and to inform decision-making,” says Tracy DasGupta, Director, Interprofessional Practice, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. “In a multi-site environment, tools that provide just-in-time information can help extend our expertise across care settings and support clinicians in their assessment and recommendations for care.”

“CAN Health has been most helpful in introducing our novel Canadian-designed technology to wound care facilities like Sunnybrook,” says Anil Amlani, MolecuLight’s CEO. “Sunnybrook’s positive results mirror the clinical utility being experienced by wound care centres worldwide and further suggests the i:X’s utility in enabling improved clinical outcomes by informing clinicians on the presence of elevated bacterial burden in wounds.”

“This one-of-a-kind device is precisely the kind of innovative Canadian technology the CAN Health Network is helping introduce to the healthcare system,” says Dr. Dante Morra, Chair, CAN Health Network. “Through projects like this, health-care operators across Canada will have access to a made in Canada, proven solutions, tested by a trusted partner in the Network.”

“As we rebuild from the COVID-19 pandemic, our government’s investment in CAN Health Network is playing a crucial role to help our innovative health companies grow and create jobs across the country,” says the Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade. “CAN Health Network partnerships like this are supporting our health systems and health-sciences innovators to bring their made-in-Canada health solutions to Canadians.”

References:
¹ CIHI. National Health Expenditure Trends, 1975 to 2011 (2011)
² Nussbaum, S. R. et al. Value Heal. J. Int. Soc. Pharmacoeconomics Outcomes Res. 21, 27–32 (2018)
³ Xu L. et al. Bacterial load predicts healing rate in neuropathic diabetic foot ulcers. 30(2), 378-80 (2007)

About MolecuLight Inc.

MolecuLight Inc. is a privately-owned medical imaging company that has developed and is commercializing its proprietary fluorescent imaging platform technology in multiple clinical markets. MolecuLight’s first commercially released device, the MolecuLight i:X fluorescence imaging system and its accessories provide a point-of-care handheld imaging device for the global wound care market for the detection of wounds containing elevated bacterial burden (when used with clinical signs and symptoms) and for digital wound measurement. The company is also commercializing its unique fluorescence imaging platform technology for other markets with globally relevant, unmet needs including food safety, consumer cosmetics and other key industrial markets.

About CAN Health Network
The CAN Health Network is a Canada-first approach to technology adoption. It helps break down barriers to scaling in the healthcare system and provides an environment for companies to scale to their full potential. Currently operating in Ontario, Western and Atlantic Canada, the CAN Health Network plans to expand to Quebec and the North. The Network has received $6.75 million from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), $3.5 million from  Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD), and most recently, $2.2 million from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency to build a national platform that harnesses the purchasing power of healthcare organizations. To learn more about the CAN Health Network, visit www.canhealthnetwork.ca.

About FedDev Ontario
For nearly 12 years, FedDev Ontario has actively worked to advance and diversify the southern Ontario economy through funding opportunities and business services that support innovation and growth in Canada’s most populous region. The Agency has delivered impressive results, which can be seen in southern Ontario businesses that are creating innovative technologies, improving their productivity, growing their revenues, and in the economic advancement of communities across the region.