Life Sciences Week 2026: Celebrating Alberta’s Health Innovation Ecosystem

Through support from Alberta Innovates, emerging companies are moving promising health technologies from concept to commercialization, helping address critical healthcare challenges and improve outcomes for Albertans.

As part of Life Sciences Week, we're highlighting several of our partnerships and the Alberta companies making an impact through innovation:

Wave View Imaging: Advancing Breast Cancer Detection

Calgary-based Wave View Imaging is developing next-generation breast imaging technology designed to improve cancer detection and patient care.

Wave View uses proprietary ultra-wideband (UWB) technology to measure the electrical properties of breast tissue and create images that can help distinguish between healthy and abnormal tissue. Because UWB signals are non-ionizing, the technology offers an imaging approach that allows patients to safely repeat testing, supporting earlier detection of cancer and ongoing monitoring.

Wave View's imaging technology demonstrates how innovation can help improve both patient care and healthcare delivery. The portable, low cost and easy to use system provides fast imaging without the level of breast compression (also known as “the squeeze”) required in traditional mammography, creating opportunities to expand breast imaging to more communities and patients across the province.

Since incorporation in 2020, supported by Alberta Innovates, Wave View has improved UWB technology and collected foundational data that demonstrates the clinical role of this exciting new imaging approach. This has since unlocked significant investment, allowing the company to move from a basic prototype to a full-fledged medical device ready for production at scale.

Over the past year, the company has achieved a series of major milestones. Wave View secured a $277,000 Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) grant to advance its imaging algorithms and successfully closed its latest funding round, supporting its entry into the Canadian market. The company currently runs clinical trials at a Calgary diagnostic imaging clinic, with early results showing promising performance.

With plans to bring its device to market in the spring of 2027, Wave View is helping position Alberta as a leader in medical imaging innovation.

RetinaLogik: Improving Eye Health Through Innovation

RetinaLogik has an eye on the future and is using virtual reality (VR) to transform how retinal diseases are detected and managed, helping patients receive earlier diagnosis and treatment for vision-threatening conditions.

RetinaLogik began as a startup founded by two University of Calgary graduates who met at a health-focused hackathon and shared a vision of making eye care more accessible. Drawing upon years of research in deep learning and glaucoma detection, they developed an AI-powered virtual reality vision screening platform that brings fast, accurate eye screening and beyond to clinics, including those in rural and underserved communities. Since then, the company has grown from two founders to a team of more than 11 employees and expanded across Canada, the United States, and other international markets.

Alberta Innovates supported RetinaLogik's growth from its early days through programs such as the Micro Voucher, AICE Validate and Life Sciences Fellowship. The company built momentum one step at a time, using funding, advice, and connections to explore new markets, grow its team, and bring its technology to more patients.

“We’re building a platform that improves accessibility for vision screening everywhere,” says Dr. Abed Sarhan, CEO and co-founder of RetinaLogik. “People living in rural and Indigenous communities can access testing locally and share results remotely with doctors. That’s what excites us.”

Today, RetinaLogik's platform is being used in clinics across North America and beyond, helping improve access to vision screening and connect people in remote communities with the care they need.

My Normative: Supporting Better Health Through Data

Did you know that Canadian women spend 24 percent more of their lives in poor health, according to the McKinsey Health Institute and the Women’s Health Collective Canada (WHCC)? The gender gap in medical research is no big secret, but My Normative is one company working to close it.

Built by women for women, My Normative is a digital research platform that is combining innovative technology with health data to improve women’s healthcare from diagnosis to treatment.

Using the My Normative mobile app, patients can securely share survey responses, symptoms, activity data, and other health information remotely, making it easier to gather data from larger and more diverse populations. The platform helps researchers and healthcare organizations collect and analyze health information in a way that better accounts for differences related to sex, gender, and reproductive health – making research more accurate for underrepresented patients.

As the My Normative evolved from an emerging startup into a growing digital health company, Alberta Innovates provided support at important stages of development through the Micro Voucher, Commercialization Associate, and Product Demonstration programs. The platform also participated in the University of Calgary’s UCeed investment program. These programs helped My Normative build expertise, grow its capacity, and continue transforming innovative ideas into tangible health technology and data.

My Normative is working to provide tools that enable better decision-making and support more effective care for women and underrepresented patients across the province. The company's work highlights the growing role of data, analytics, and digital innovation in shaping the future of health services.

Building Alberta's Life Sciences Future

Together, these companies demonstrate how Alberta-made innovation is making the journey from research into health solutions that reach patients on the ground. Through partnerships, funding, and expertise, Alberta Innovates helps innovators move promising ideas toward commercialization, creating new opportunities to improve care, strengthen the health system, and enhance quality of life for Albertans.

Alberta companies developing innovative health technologies may also be eligible for support through the Accelerating Innovations into CarE (AICE) program, which is currently accepting Expressions of Interest.