Local innovation, partnership celebrated at U of A

ST Innovations director and University of Alberta professor Vivian Vivian Mushahwar speaks at the HealthTech Forward 2026 conference at the University of Alberta on Feb. 25, 2026. (Darcy Seaton / CTV News Edmonton)

Alberta innovation was celebrated Wednesday at the University of Alberta.

The school is home to ST Innovations, a non-profit centre that helps get health technology products to market.

Some of the 40 projects that ST Innovations has helped complete is a wearable, needle-free glucose monitor; a low-cost and non-invasive portable neuroimaging tool for cognitive decline and neurological injury; and an early-stage breathing profile sensor meant to provide more reliable and efficient long-term oxygen therapy.

“We’re providing the infrastructure, the equipment, the expertise, the talent, (and) the skills in a wide range of areas,” ST Innovations director and professor Vivian Vivian Mushahwar explained, speaking to reporters on Wednesday at HealthTech Forward 2026, a conference showcasing the program’s work.

“We’re removing those barriers in the ecosystem and saying, ‘We’re open. Let’s talk. Let’s focus on the innovation.’”

Altogether, ST Innovations has worked with more than 100 companies.

Applicants must be based in Alberta and have received eligible grant funding for their product.

“If these innovations continue to grow, we’re going to have investments coming in and there’s going to be a huge return on investment to the solvents. And to Albertans,” Mushahwar said.

ST Innovations’ focus is on smart and digital medical equipment, wearable digital devices, smart medical devices, surgical instruments, diagnostic instruments, and remote care devices.