Alberta Innovates and Pfizer have joined the Precision Analytics Program, a collaboration between the Alberta Cancer Foundation and Cancer Care Alberta to improve outcomes for Albertans with cancer by using vast data to reduce wait times and tailor patient care. The new partners join Roche Canada, which has renewed its participation in the $4.5-million program that began in 2024.
Alberta is a well-suited jurisdiction for this work because it has "one of the world's most comprehensive cancer datasets to better understand the patient journey," Alberta Innovates posted after its participation was announced at BioAlberta's policy forum on March 5. Indeed, the cancer foundation notes that more than 300 million patients have submitted data since 2014. The project partners are leveraging the artificial intelligence and machine learning prowess of GovLab.ai and AltaML on a "digital roadmap" of the patient experience with cancer.
BioAlberta's policy forum discussed a number of other health innovations, including Lung Health Check, an initiative funded by the province, the Alberta Cancer Foundation, and AstraZeneca, and coordinated by Praxus Health and Aceso Medical. The program, which is the first of its kind in Canada, brings breathing tests to rural, remote, and Indigenous communities, with plans to include lung cancer screening this year.