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What's Inside
Letter from ED
"How many people in the room care about their health?" I asked the full room at our recent Wireless Health Forum. Not surprising the answer was 100%. Then I asked how many people in the room cared about wireless and connect via a wireless device – be it a BlackBerry, iPhone, wireless mouse, game console, remote control for TV – at least once a day. Again, the answer was 100%.
For the sake of perspective, let me take a brief sidetrack: According to the latest data there are more than 1 trillion (that's 1000 X 1000 X 1000 X 1000) wireless devices in the world today. A question that I didn't ask the audience but did ask Google was "How long would it take to count to 1 trillion?" and the answer was: "At one number per second, it would take you 11, 570,000 days, or about 31,709 years. Welcome to the convergence between wireless and health care!"
It's summer vacation for many BC wireless, health care and life sciences companies, nevertheless, the first ever Wireless Health Forum (held on Thursday, July 16th in the beautiful Versailles room at Sutton Place Hotel in downtown Vancouver) was packed -- we even had to ask the staff to bring more chairs. Clearly, there is serious appetite among developers, doctors, scientists, and policy makers to learn more about the convergence of wireless and health care.
More than eighty five professionals from Qualcomm, Sierra Wireless, Microsoft, Telus Health Solutions, Vigil Health, Heart Force, LifeScan Canada, PHSA, Genome BC, the Centre for Digital Media, UBC Faculty of Medicine, BC Premier's Technology Council and others attended the morning presentations and the highly interactive Q&A session between the audience and the keynote speakers: Clint McClellan (Qualcomm), Barb Berg (Microsoft Canada) and Corinne Campney (Telus). To view their presentations please click on the links below.
After the morning session and networking, more than twenty executives participated in a strategic round table hosted by Fasken Martineau, to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing our province. We closed the day with matchmaking meetings between Qualcomm and some top WINBC member companies.
If you couldn't join us at the forum or if you are still not sure where the opportunities lie please read “Where are the opportunities for wireless SMEs?" by Jules Meunier, former President of Wireless Networks at NORTEL and currently a director in our board, or the very-well documented paper published by Rizwan Keraj, NRC-IRAP advisor, titled "Electronic Medical Records – Where are the opportunities for Canadian vendors?".
If you are still not sure about where your technology fits you can also read FAST TALK - "The Networked Body" article in Fast Company magazine - July/August 2009 issue. The article suggests that "Biomedicine and wireless technology are converging to create a booming remote-health-monitoring market – expected to more than double to $7.7 billion a year by 2012 – to combat obesity, heart disease, and other illnesses."
Talking about science, technology and innovation I am happy to report that this month WINBC worked together with Life Sciences BC, other BC industry associations and more than 25 top BC executives to develop a comprehensive strategy for our province in which Science, Technology and Innovation are essential to building a successful knowledge-based provincial economy. A group of us presented an initial proposal to Mrs. Moira Stilwell, Minister of Advanced Education for consideration.
Also this month, we began working with all three levels of government to create a BC Olympic Hosting Program, and have hired Jeff LaPorte as our Technology Director and Sara Bailey as our Creative Director for our 2010 Showcase & Services initiative. We are planning another BC Demo Day in the second part of September. We are working closely with BC Invest to identify new opportunities for business development between BC and Germany and BC and South Korea.
I would like to close this month's letter with my thanks to Don Jones and Clint McClellan at the Health and Life Sciences Division of Qualcomm for offering the Qualcomm Partner Rate to a few select wireless companies who want to exhibit at the Wireless Health Pavilion part of CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment, October 7-9 in San Diego.
Thank you for reading,
Michael Bidu
Executive Director, WINBC
Wireless Health Forum a Success
 WINBC in partnership with Life Sciences BC invited some leaders in the wireless health space to address the convergence of health and wireless technology and the impact it might have on the healthcare system:
- Clint McClellan, Senior Director Business Development, Health and Life Sciences, Qualcomm - Topic: Wireless Technology is Revolutionizing Healthcare (view presentation)
- Barbara Berg, National Healthcare Director, Western Provincial Government Director, Microsoft Canada - Topic: The Future of Healthcare (Public health records, Trends and Microsoft HealthVault).
- Corrine Campney, Director, Health Strategy, Telus Health Solutions - Topic: Wireless Healthcare in Canada: Knowledge-clinicians on-the-move (view presentation)
 Rising healthcare industry costs, an aging patient population and a shortage of skilled staff have created an opportunity for technology and service providers, as hospitals and other front-line healthcare providers look for new technologies to lower their operating costs. Wireless LANs, VoIP deployments, the RFID tagging of patients and hospital assets, as well as extending care to remote patients via telemedicine applications, all have the potential to lower healthcare delivery costs.
In addition, rising consumer expectations and a growing desire for knowledge and engagement are putting added pressure on the system to reform, and are creating opportunities for SMEs in parallel and less regulated verticals, such as wellness, fitness, personal health record management, gaming and at-home diagnostics and monitoring.
There is clearly an interest in this vertical and we have only begun to assess the opportunity, develop a community, identify the players in the value chain and, eventually, define how to increase chances of commercial success.
WHERE ARE THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR WIRELESS
SMEs IN THE HEALTHCARE SPACE?
Courtesy of Jules Meunier, former President of Wireless Networks of Nortel, current director of WINBC board.
Clearly the healthcare opportunity for is an enormous one, but where are the entrance points to the system and where are the specific opportunities for SMEs? One way to define the opportunity is to look at where wireless technology intersects with healthcare.
» Click here to view chart
Perhaps the most obvious and least innovative application of wireless to health is simply that it enables people to access information anytime, anywhere -- and there is an enormous demand for health information. Yahoo! Groups for example has in excess of 180,000 groups about health, alone. There are 300 million paying mobile data subscribers world-wide with 720 million projected by 2012. 10 million consumers in the US, alone, use their cell phones and smartphones to look up health and medical information. Wireless enables this flow of information and connects people to each other.
E-records – Where are the opportunities for Canadian vendors?
Okay, so the opportunities for electronic records are limited; nevertheless, where are they?
Excerpt from a paper by Rizwan Kheraj, NRC-IRAP
 In Canada, Healthcare costs account for over 10 percent (over $160B) of our GDP, and spending on e-Health technologies is over $5B annually (Frost & Sullivan). The market opportunity for Canadian SMEs developing innovative ICT technologies for this vertical market is sizeable and the growth is forecasted to be around 15% over the next several years. Just in the e-health sub-area of Electronic health records (EHR) / EMRs, Canada Health Infoway (CHI) has invested over $1.6B over the past 8 years. As of March 31, 2009, 17% of Canada's 33.5 million have a core electronic health record, according to the CHI annual report – CHI is looking to reach the goal of 50% of Canadians with an EHR by end of 2010 (Health Data Management, June 30, 2009).
Key strategies in making success products are those that have: superior usability, patient-centric designs, seamless interoperability with existing systems, and very high degree of physician / healthcare professional engagement. Top healthcare mobility opportunities:
- Barcoded medication and specimen administration
- Remote Patient Monitoring
- Mobile Physician
- Hospital and nurse communications
- Mobile Asset Management / Monitoring
- Blood transfusion verification
- Sales force automation for pharmaceutical sales
- RFID tracking for pharmaceuticals
To read the full paper and see a list of vendors currently active in the space click here.
WINBC & Life Sciences BC Trade Mission to San Diego – October 5-6, 2009
Along with Western Economic Diversification and the Department of Foreign Affairs & International Trade, WINBC is planning a trade mission to San Diego October 5 & 6, to connect you to our San Diego partners and to wireless health opportunities. The goal is to organize visits and meet top executives at CommNexus, Qualcomm, the West Wireless Health Institute, as well as to organize matchmaking between SMEs from BC and San Diego, before and during CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment 2009.
WINBC, Life Sciences BC and select wireless companies from BC will exhibit at the Wireless Health Pavilion October 7-9, 2009. Want to join us? Contact WINBC today.
Special offer for BC Wireless companies at
CTIA 2009 – Exhibit for less!
 WINBC has secured a special Qualcomm Partner Rate for BC wireless companies wanting to exhibit in the Wireless Health Pavilion at CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment (San Diego, October 7-9, 2009). The package not only includes the booth, but also additional marketing and promotional activities.
The Wireless Health Pavilion is where the industry will come to see innovative demos and exhibits from leading wireless manufacturers and health care providers who are advancing wireless trends in medicine.
» More details
Don't miss your opportunity to benefit from this offer. Contact WINBC to reserve your space before August 6th.
B2B Olympic Hosting Program – Send us your recommendations today
Metro Vancouver, the Ministry of Small Business, Technology and Economic Development of BC and the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) are coordinating on an Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Hosting Program to maximize economic opportunities for BC companies by bringing select individuals (executive guests) to Vancouver during the Olympic Winter Games in February 2010.
These executive guests will receive a VIP Olympic experience and will be invited to spend three to four days at the Olympics in Vancouver, hosted by civic and business leaders. The executive guest schedule is business focused, with very high Business to Business (B2B) content, interspersed with Olympic sporting events and venue tours.
Who would you like to have invited to Vancouver? Who are the individuals you want to meet?
Contact us today and let us know:
- Contact name, title and company
- Contact information (email, phone)
- Qualifying factor (reason / interest in recommending)
Exciting Opportunities to Expand your business into Asian markets
Keep reading if you are a BC wireless or new media company interested in participating in an upcoming gaming event (G-Star Game Show) in South Korea. This event provides a unique opportunity for BC gaming companies to expand their business to the fourth largest marketplace in the mobile gaming space. The size of the South Korean domestic game market in 2007 amounted to KRW 5.14 trillion ($43B USD).
The BC Asia-Pacific Business Centre at Robson Square will be organizing an after-5pm orientation session for companies interested in learning more about the gaming and new media industry in Japan and Korea. The session will be linked live to presenters in Tokyo and Seoul. BC's International Business Development Managers will be on hand to answer questions. Space is limited. To reserve your spot, contact Sandy Choi today at: 604-660-6815 or email sandy.choi@gov.bc.ca
Face_Time: Samsung Electronics in Vancouver mid October
 WINBC is working closely with BC Invest to bring Samsung Electronics to Vancouver in mid-October.
Samsung is a major Olympic sponsor and has shown interest in what BC wireless and digital media companies can offer. WINBC and New Media BC will send out a dedicated email to ask interested companies to submit their applications for Samsung's consideration.
Briefly, Samsung is looking for innovative or advanced technologies that are either ready for commercialization or in pre-commercial stage (12-24 months) that can help this world-class handset manufacturer differentiate itself from the competition. More specifically they are looking for the following:
- Downloadable: General contents, including Game, Music, Video, etc.
- Must be Embedded: Accessory part, chip, HW, material, Camera, Display, UI (User Interface), Sensor(Motion, Touch, etc.), Battery, eco-friendly material, solar power voltaic renewable energy, Health, Well-being, Outdoor
- Samsung's definition of Downloadable Software is focused on user's entertainment functionality (fun and play stuff), widgets, SNS (Social Networking)
- Samsung's definition of Embedded-purpose applications says they should carry specific functionalities to differentiate the handset feature (e.g. UI/GUI, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, LBS, Multimedia, Messaging, VoIP, MobileTV, IMS)
Face_Time events are designed to facilitate matchmaking between world-renowned brands, such as Samsung, and SMEs from BC or Western Canada. A dedicated Call of Interest that will match the brand's interest with your technology will be sent out before August 15th. Watch your email!
BC Wireless Industry News
WebTech Wireless Announces Sale of 5,000 Locators to Prolog S.A.
Vancouver, BC, July 8, 2009 — WebTech Wireless announced that it has received a purchase order for 5,000 model WT5000 Locators from Prolog S.A., WebTech Wireless' Mexican distributor. » More
Spectrum's SDR-4000 to Support the Inmarsat BGAN Waveform from GateHouse
Vancouver, BC, July 22, 2009 — Spectrum Signal Processing by Vecima announced today that GateHouse Communications has selected Spectrum's flexComm SDR-4000 software-defined radio transceiver platform to port their Inmarsat Broadband Global Area Network SDR waveform. » More
WebTech Wireless Announces 700 Unit Sale to Canadian Service Fleet of Fortune 500 Tech Company
Vancouver, BC, July 24, 2009 — WebTech Wireless announced that its WT5000 Locator and OBDII Gateway in-vehicle devices have been selected by the Canadian subsidiary of a global technology company for its national service fleet. » More
Upcoming Events
August 12, 2009 – Call for Entries: Digital Springboard Mentorship by New Media BC
Emerging Digital Media companies are invited to submit their company profiles and proposals for the DIGITAL SPRINGBOARD. If you are an emerging Canadian digital media company looking for a mentor to help you navigate a technical or business related challenge, please submit your proposal to Christine Lim-Labossiere, New Media BC's Manager, Industry Development and International Partnerships at Christine@newmediabc.com by August 12, 2009.
September 9-11, 2009 - IEEE International Conference on Ultra-Wideband, Vancouver, BC
This conference provides a forum for the latest UWB systems, technologies and applications in both microwave and millimeter wave bands. The ICUWB program of 2009 will feature invited plenary sessions and symposia by international experts and new product displays by market leaders in the field. Prospective authors are invited to submit technical papers until 23 February 2009. For more information visit the 2009 ICUWB website www.icuwb2009.org.
October 7-9, 2009 - CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment, San Diego, CA
The international conference that brings a community of users, carriers, developers and manufacturers together to generate dialogue, share ideas and debate the economics of mobile business; all with a focus on applications, network architecture and technologies such as LBS, machine-to-machine and WiMAX. For more information and registration at: www.wirelessit.com.
October 8, 2009 - WIPJAM @ CTIA, San Diego, CA
Plans are underway for another great WIPJam at CTIA. Stay tuned for regular updates. Jam Sessions are interactive and definitely not boring. We mean it when we say No PPT, No Panels and No Ties! WIP Jam sessions are a unique format for mobile and wireless developers, where we blend ‘unpanels', with intimate discussion groups led by industry leaders and developers alike. And it's really very interactive - we make sure everyone gets a chance to be heard. For more information: www.wipjam/ctia.
October 19, 2009 - Connect '09, Vancouver, BC
BC Innovation Council's Premier Event for Technology Start-ups and Innovator. Learn directly from prominent BC technology leaders invited for the vital purpose of sharing their experience with technology start-ups and innovators. Learn the techniques and strategies from industry experts and entrepreneurial case studies that directly impact a start-up's success. For more information and registration: www.bcic.ca/connect.
November 26-29, 2009 - G-Star Game Show, Busan, Korea
Korea's largest gaming trade show and conference, G-Star attracts over 200,000 visitors, with a particular focus on mobile and online gaming. Selected BC companies participating in G-Star will have access to BC booth space, the International Content Creator's Conference (ICON), as well as networking and business-matching opportunities organized by BC's representative office in Korea. For more information about G-Star, contact: Ms. Soo Kyung Ahn at: 604-660-5916 or SooKyung.Ahn@gov.bc.ca.
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| Wireless Health Forum Testimonials |
"Congratulations on having organized a wonderful morning forum and a late morning round table to discuss about the opportunities of mobile solutions for health in B.C. I found the discussions fascinating and I learned a great deal from the various presenters."
"I think you're on the right track in efforts to find interesting intersections for wireless and solution spaces – and healthcare is a big solution space."
"I enjoyed the event last week. My main comment is that there needed to be more insight regarding the opportunities for startups and a better sense of the un-met consumer needs so as to create connections between customer requirements and drive the create of solutions from start-ups."
"I feel that we in B.C. has some wonderful advantages in this market…thanks for bringing us for a stimulating dialogue and form the grounding for future collaboration."
"I thought the wireless health forum was a great idea! Clearly the attendance at the event showed there was a lot of interest in this area by local businesses."
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INDUSTRY EVENTS
New Media BC
Digital Springboard Mentorship Call for Entries - Vancouver, BC
Deadline: Aug 12, 2009
Digital Taipei 2009
Game, Animation, Digital Archive and eLearning from all over the world
Taiwan, Taipei - Sept 1-3, 2009
Wireless World 2009
6th annual B2B wireless & mobility exhibition & conference
Sydney, Australia - Sept 9-10, 2009
IEEE International Conference
Conference on Ultra-Wideband
Vancouver, BC - Sept 9-11, 2009
CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment
Share ideas and debate the economics of Mobile Business
San Diego, CA - Oct 7-9, 2009
WIPJAM @ CTIA
No PPT, No Panels and No Ties!
San Diego, CA - Oct 8, 2009
Connect '09
BC Innovation Council's Premier Event for Technology Start-ups and Innovator
Vancouver, BC - Oct 19, 2009
G Star Game Show
Korea's largest gaming tradeshow - Busan, Korea
Nov 26-29, 2009
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