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THE EXPONENTIAL POWER OF 3
Clichés like “teamwork makes
the dream work” have stuck in our
cultural lexicon for a reason — they’re
true. And they’re especially true when
it comes to confronting multi-faceted
challenges, particularly in health care.
It takes different skills, perspectives and
expertise to create an effective solution.
Boehringer Ingelheim, Johnson &
Johnson and Novo Nordisk are just some
of the organizations that have entered
into three-way partnerships between
government, the private sector and
the University Hospital Foundation to
transform treatment and the health-care
system through research.
“We all know that better health
takes more than just medicine. No
single stakeholder has all the answers,
but when we come together, we can
strengthen the system and make
a real difference in people’s lives,”
says Lana Solberg, health policy and
patient access manager at Boehringer
Ingelheim Canada, which began its
partnership with the Foundation and
the Government of Alberta in 2018. “At
Boehringer, we believe in the collective
power of individuals in the pursuit
of solutions that are accessible to
more people. Together, we’re building
a healthier, more sustainable, and
equitable tomorrow.”
Working together, these three entities are able
to do more. They meet to determine priorities
and work together to fund projects with local
researchers, companies or community clinics
already focused on the identified areas — those
who can get the project completed to inform
real-life practices within the health-care industry.
With projects that run the gamut from
oncology research to improving health-care
delivery in Indigenous communities, the impact
is being felt across Alberta — and the country.
Partnerships have been created in other
provinces thanks to the initial innovation and
synergy that started here.
“And it’s not lost on me that this relationship
with the Foundation and the Government of
Alberta was the first such health innovation
partnership that the Foundation entered,
and remains the longest standing,” says
Keith Gilchrist, strategic access manager
at Johnson & Johnson.
“We know that we can’t defeat
serious chronic disease as a single
entity — it’s impossible! It really does
need an all-of-society approach,
and that’s what leads us into the
types of partnerships like the
one that we established many
years ago with the University
Hospital Foundation,” says Andrew
Robertson, associate director,
public affairs at Novo Nordisk
Canada Inc.
AI Meets Heart Health
What if diagnosing heart disease
could be faster, more accurate
and completely personalized? The
Cardiovascular Research Institute
(CVRI) at the University of Alberta
is making that future a reality with
the CVRI Imaging Core (CVRI2C),
a groundbreaking initiative that’s
harnessing artificial intelligence (AI)
and advanced imaging to transform
cardiovascular care.
By analyzing massive datasets of
heart images, this technology can
identify unique biomarkers that
help detect heart disease earlier and
more precisely. That means faster
diagnoses, personalized treatment
plans and better patient outcomes.
AI also streamlines the workflow,
reducing strain on health-care teams
and allowing them to focus on what
matters most — patient care.
CVRI2C is paving the way for a future where heart disease is detected sooner,
treated with discernment and managed more efficiently.
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