Montréal, QC
Date: 27 September, 2023
Gray Oncology Solutions is proud to announce its collaboration in a multi-province consortium of 10 notable Canadian healthcare entities to develop the first patient-centric care management system for oncology. The consortium is composed of the Ottawa Hospital, the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, UHN, the Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal, the Jewish General Hospital, the Centre Intégré de Santé et de Services Sociaux de Laval, the McGill University Health Centre, the CIUSSS de l’Estrie - Sherbrooke, Southlake Regional Health Centre, the Canadian Cancer Society, and Gray Oncology Solutions.
This initiative was presented by the consortium through the AI for Healthcare - Call for Projects and selected through a highly competitive process by Scale AI.
“SCALE AI is working with many partners to accelerate the rapid adoption and integration of AI in key sectors like healthcare. Projects announced today mobilize the efforts of AI ecosystem players and hospitals to meet today’s public health challenges and to have a profound effect on healthcare in Canada.”
said Julien Billot, Scale AI's CEO.
The 2.9M$ project focuses on developing, deploying, and evaluating software to address three key challenges in oncology: the stochastic nature of patient flow, the difficulty of proactive capacity planning, and the coordination of multiple services that a single patient may require throughout their care trajectory. The multi-province consortium will use multiple algorithmic classes ranging from machine learning and statistical modeling for the prediction of patient flow to operations research algorithms that proactively determine the ideal set of resources required to sustain the predicted incoming patient flow.
“AI is an integral part of our innovation and development strategy. We believe in the importance of using this tool to improve medical decision-making, and therefore patient care, throughout their life trajectory.”
said Melissa Diffey, Manager, Radiation Medicine Program, The Ottawa Hospital.
Gray brings a wealth of experience in developing and deploying state-of-the-art technological solutions that drive operational excellence in both medical oncology and radiation oncology. Their operating system, GrayOS will serve as the cornerstone upon which these pioneering advancements will be built.
“The magnitude of this collaboration underscores the profound importance of our mission and the collective dedication to enhance access to efficient care. We’re thrilled to provide the technological foundation for this ambitious undertaking.”
said André Diamant, Gray Oncology Solutions' CEO.
The Ottawa Hospital, the Princess Margaret, and the Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal, some of the nation’s leading cancer centers, will closely work with Gray to design, implement, test, and evaluate these major developments into an integrated care management system. All three centers have leveraged GrayOS over the past years to optimize their operations, thus reducing administrative burden, saving costs, and improving access to care.
"The oncology teams at CHUM are very proud of the role they have played in the co-creation of GrayOS to date. The continuation of our collaboration with Gray through this new project demonstrates our commitment to constantly advancing the quality of cancer care by remaining at the forefront of innovation.”
said Mélanie Dubé, Clinical-administrative co-manager (interim), Integrated cancer center and Caroline Parent, administrative coordinator, radiation oncology, CHUM.
“At Princess Margaret Cancer Centre UHN, we've always embraced innovation, including AI, to enhance cancer care. Our participation in this collaborative project reflects our ongoing commitment to improving patient access and care efficiency in Canada.”
added Colleen Dickie, Director of Operations, Radiation Medicine Program, PM Lodge, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre UHN .
The consortium will provide strategic guidance, ensuring the new care management system will benefit a wide range of Canadian hospitals while aligning with governmental strategic priorities.
“The Canadian Cancer Society is proud to join together with our consortium partners to accelerate adoption of innovations in cancer care and connect researchers and entrepreneurs pushing into new frontiers. This new AI project is going to enhance the patient experience by improving operational efficiencies and care in cancer centres in Quebec and Ontario.”
said Andrea Seale, CEO of the Canadian Cancer Society.
Through this innovation, the consortium expects to increase access to care, reduce cost/patient for healthcare providers, reduce wait times for cancer patients, and reduce stress for healthcare workers.
About the consortium
Gray Oncology Solutions Inc.
Gray Oncology Solutions (Montréal-based start-up) has a vision of a healthcare ecosystem with no resources wasted. In pursuit of this vision, they have developed an “operating system” which simplifies cancer treatment by streamlining workflows across multiple points of cancer care (GrayOS). Operationally, this translates to the optimization & automation of patient scheduling while explicitly incorporating the complex multi-disciplinary workflow resulting in increased access to care, reduced patient wait times, increased patient/staff satisfaction and ultimately superior patient care.
Visit www.gray-os.com for more information.
Scale AI
Scale AI is the central pillar of Canada’s AI ecosystem of private entities, research centres, academia and high-potential startups. As Canada’s AI Global Innovation Cluster, they identify cross-sector collaborative projects and provide funding and support to help Canada stay ahead of the AI curve. Scale AI is a co-investment and innovation hub with government funding matched by contributions from the private sector. A business-led consortium, Scale AI will drive economic growth, bolster Canada’s leadership in the global innovation race, support the building of world-leading businesses, create highly skilled jobs, and accelerate the adoption of AI-powered technologies.
Visit www.scaleai.ca for more information.
The Ottawa Hospital
The Ottawa Hospital is one of Canada’s top learning and research hospitals, where excellent care is inspired by research and driven by compassion. As the third-largest employer in Ottawa, our support staff, researchers, nurses, physicians, and volunteers never stop seeking solutions to the most complex health-care challenges. Our multi-campus hospital, affiliated with the University of Ottawa, attracts some of the most influential scientific minds from around the world. Backed by generous support from the community, we are committed to providing the world-class, compassionate care we would want for our loved ones.
Visit www.ottawahospital.on.ca for more information.
The Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Montréal
The CHUM is a university hospital center that offers general, specialized and superspecialized care to adult clientele. Its mission is divided into five parts: care, research, teaching, evaluation of technologies and health intervention methods, as well as health promotion. The CHUM serves 40% of the population of Quebec and contributes to the training of nearly 50% of its doctors. Their integrated cancer center (CICC) is a supraregional center specializing in the treatment of complex cancers and offers multiple services such as diagnostic, medical oncology and radiation oncology.
Visit the www.chumontreal.qc.ca for more information.
The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, UHN
The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, UHN is part of the University Health Network. It has 12 site groups and 26 specialty clinics, and more than 3,000 staff who see over 400,000 patient visits every year. It’s one of the largest comprehensive cancer treatment facilities in the world and the largest radiation treatment centre in Canada. Through ongoing research, education and innovation, Princess Margaret continues to be on the frontiers of medical, surgical and radiation oncology, embracing the latest technology and international best-practices and setting standards for patient care.
Visit the www.uhn.ca/OurHospitals/PrincessMargaret for more information.
CIUSSS de l’Estrie - Sherbrooke
Including a university hospital centre, the CIUSSS de l'Estrie – CHUS is one of the most comprehensive health systems in Quebec. Nearly 100% of health care and social services are provided: from birth to end-of-life care, from prevention (care and services in schools, vaccination, etc.) to specialized (surgery, oncology, radiology, etc.) and highly specialized (neurosurgery, neonatology, etc.) care. The facility has over 20,000 employees and managers, over 1,000 physicians and serves over 500,000 people. In the oncology space, the CIUSSSE-CHUS offers multiple services from screening, to treatment (medical oncology, radiation oncology, surgery).
Visit the www.santeestrie.qc.ca for more information.
Southlake Regional Health Centre
Southlake Regional Health Centre is a full-service hospital with a regional, clinically advanced focus. As a regionally designated site, Southlake is responsible for developing and providing advanced levels of care to more than one million people. The Stronach Regional Cancer Centre (SRCC) at Southlake represents the regionally designated program for the Central Regional Cancer Program. The SRCC delivers programs and services for patients living in York Region, North York, and South Simcoe County, including cancer screening, diagnostic testing, radiation, chemotherapy, and supportive care. Southlake’s cancer program includes both inpatient and outpatient services and the two areas work together to provide seamless care.
Visit the www.southlake.ca for more information.
McGill University Health Centre
The McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) is a bilingual academic health network, and one of the largest and most modern in North America. It is the largest hospital system in Canada by bed capacity. The mandate of the institution is to provide tertiary and quaternary care to the population of Montreal, Quebec and adjacent provinces. The Cedars Cancer Centre consolidates all aspects of the MUHC’s Cancer Care Mission in one location. From medical, surgical and radiation oncology to supportive and palliative care, nutrition and social services, patients of all ages have access to the latest in cancer treatments in a thoughtfully designed environment that supports their physical, emotional and spiritual healing.
Visit www.muhc.ca for more information.
Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux de Laval
The “Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux” (CISSS) of Laval treats more than 400,000 patients each year, thanks to the contribution of its 13,000 employees, its 700 doctors, dentists and pharmacists as well as its 700 volunteers. Its integrated cancer center is a center of excellence and reference in the fight against cancer for the population of Laval and surrounding regions. It offers an innovative interdisciplinary approach, where the concerted efforts of all its partners are articulated around a continuum of interventions centered on the person affected and their loved ones, including a department of radiation oncology and of hemato oncology.
Visit www.lavalensante.com for more information.
Jewish General Hospital
Since 1934, the Jewish General Hospital has been providing cutting‑edge treatment and compassionate care to patients from diverse religious and cultural backgrounds in Montreal, throughout Quebec and beyond. As one of the province’s largest and busiest acute-care hospitals, this 637‑bed McGill University teaching hospital admits more than 23,000 patients a year, while handling at least 300,000 outpatient visits, 67,000 emergency visits and more than 4,000 births on an annual basis. The JGH’s cancer center, the Segal Cancer Centre, is a state‐of‐the‐art facility which provides patients with the most comprehensive approach to care, combining cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment, psychosocial support, nutritional support and clinical and fundamental research in cancer.
Visit www.jgh.ca for more information.
Canadian Cancer Society
The Canadian Cancer Society works tirelessly to save and improve lives. We fund the brightest minds in cancer research. We provide a compassionate support system for all those affected by cancer, across Canada and for all types of cancer. As the voice for people who care about cancer, we work with governments to shape a healthier society. No other organization does all that we do to make lives better today and transform the future of cancer forever. Help us make a difference. Call 1-888-939-3333 or visit cancer.ca today.