Tech Update: Surgery goes virtual; startups take aim at food waste; and Toronto accelerators make waves

A Canadian startup is hoping to train the next generation of surgeons — from their sofas.

Marion Surgical, a medical technology company, has created a surgical simulator that will be available online and accessible to any student with a VR headset. Called Minimally Invasive, the simulator aims to help medical students and residents sharpen their skills in the latest robotic surgical techniques through a series of tutorials and practice operations. Players see exactly what a surgeon would see as they perform the procedures. Initially, it will provide training on kidney and gallbladder removal.

Minimally Invasive, which will be available to download from Steam early access from next week, is an attempt by Marion Surgical to broaden access to affordable training. The company’s main line of business is selling high-spec surgery simulation machines that provide an immersive experience complete with haptic feedback. But they cost almost $100,000. “Schools don’t necessarily have the budget for it,” says co-founder Ben Sainsbury. He hopes Marion’s new product — which will retail for around $50 — will help make training on the latest surgical techniques more accessible. “We want to sell a ton of these training tools,” he says.

Food waste finalists unveiled

Startups that turn food waste into everything from textiles to biodegradable plastics are among the six finalists in a federal government challenge to find new technologies to reduce food waste. Ottawa has now given each company up to $450,000 to test its tech in real-world settings. The finalists — who are competing for two grand prizes of $1 million — include ALT TEX from Kitchener, Aruna Revolution from Trois-Rivières, Que., and Genecis Bioindustries from Scarborough.

Cleantech makes up 3 per cent of Canada’s economy

A newly published report by Deloitte shines a light on the state of clean technology in Canada. The good news: Canada has 1,100 cleantech companies employing 210,000 people, representing 3.1 per cent of the GDP. The bad news: Canada isn’t deploying new clean technologies nearly fast enough to meet its emission reduction targets.

Sonero acquired by Mediafly

Toronto AI startup Sonero has been acquired by Mediafly, a Chicago-based sales and marketing platform. Sonero has developed an AI system that integrates into video conferencing services and provides analytics about meetings. Founder Kanish Raajkumar says that joining Mediafly will help Sonero push the limits of AI technology.

Ontario incubators ranked among world’s best

University of Toronto Entrepreneurship is one of the world’s top five university incubators, according to a new ranking from Swedish research group UBI Global. York Entrepreneurship Development Institute and the Accelerator Centre in Kitchener-Waterloo were also recognized as being among the best public-private accelerators in the world.

By the numbers

$50 million: In the face of continuing lithium supply chain challenges, Calgary-based Summit Nanotech — which produces lithium sustainably — has raised U.S.$50 million.

$1.1 trillion: The world invested U.S.$1.1 trillion on the transition to clean energy last year, matching what it spent on oil and gas for the first time.

$40 million: Quantum computing company Xanadu has received $40 million from the feds. In November, it raised U.S.$100 million from venture capital funds.

$6.5 million: Diversio, a Toronto-based diversity, equity and inclusion platform secured $6.5 million in Series A funding.

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