By UHN's KITE Research Institute
What do health care tools look like? Are they a sturdy grey walker, a plain white continuous diabetes monitor, or a bulky plastic boot for a fracture?
Or are they something else entirely: an immersive virtual reality set that lets people with dementia swim with dolphins, a fashionable shirt that monitors asthma symptoms, or an entertaining video game that makes people want to do rehab exercises?
KITE Creates, powered by UHN's KITE Research Institute, is working towards that second vision with its new venture development program, the Creators Circle. It connects design and creative tech professionals with health care entrepreneurs.
"We're opening our doors [at KITE] with an open call for creators to bring their expertise, knowledge and talents to help us solve very real health care challenges," says Garrick Ng, KITE Creates Program Lead. "It's a chance for people who come from these different worlds to share their perspectives and learn from each other."
The Creators Circle will invite people from media creation, virtual and augmented reality, VFX and animation, gaming, fashion, product design or AI to collaborate with health researchers and entrepreneurs developing new health ventures or bringing their products to market.
It's a bit like an incubator with a twist, Garrick says, with a focus on participants growing as health care entrepreneurs and incorporating new points of view on aspects like technological approach, design and user experience or market fit.
"Their first experience will be pitching their current solution and approach to a diverse panel of creatives and industry mentors," he says. "Getting that feedback early and opening them up to other creative possibilities and collaboration opportunities will hopefully put them on a better commercialization path."
Creative professionals, for their part, will get the chance to work with their health care matches at various levels, from mentoring to being full partners in the companies.
In some ways, KITE Creates itself is a microcosm of its mission to connect scientists developing health care products with creative industry talent. It's powered by UHN's KITE Research Institute and focuses on rehabilitation, disability, illness and aging.
And, Garrick has a creative, business and social impact background, having previously worked at Artscape, and an MBA in business and sustainability.
