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Health Innovation Roundup
Sept. 9, 2026

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Applied Pharmaceutical Innovation

MagnetaMR wants to bring MRI to you

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Picture this: You're in Acheson, Bon Accord, or Calahoo, and you need magnetic resonance imaging — commonly known as an MRI scan. You're not feeling your best, and you need to drive to the city to access this care. You also have to wait for an appointment. Vexing, right? Now imagine the scanner could come to you and — bonus points — it's less imposing than a conventional system. That solution is what MagnetaMR is working on, with recent milestones that show promise.

MagnetaMR is developing a portable, AI-informed, low-field MRI device that could cost as little as 10% of the current price of $1.5 million to $3 million for conventional, fixed-place MRI, CityNews Edmonton reported. In 2025, the company received a $100,000 grant from the Alberta Cancer Foundation to further the mission as providers look to remote or transportable health solutions for rural care; that was less than a year after MagnetaMR's incorporation. It then hired Shawn Fraser, who has 25 years of experience in health, as its executive director of business development and strategy. Co-founder and CEO Aaron Purchase has studied and worked in MRI technology at Harvard Medical School and the University of Alberta, where he worked on compact MRI technology intended for the International Space Station, fellow co-founder Heather Purchase told Taproot in an email.

The Alberta government introduced paid, self-referred medical imaging in July, leading to criticism that it will help the wealthy jump the queue while worsening waits for publicly funded scans. MagnetaMR's approach is to make the technology itself more accessible at a time when waits can be more than two years, the company wrote. Its goal is not to make existing tech obsolete, unlike some other local medical-device makers. "We see our system as complementary to conventional MRI rather than a replacement for it," Heather Purchase said. "We understand the potential trickle-down impacts of a delayed MRI, and our goal is to begin to fill those gaps with another option." The solution is still at the prototype stage, however, and likely two to three years away from commercialization.

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Headlines

  • The University of Alberta's department of medicine and the Edmonton Public Library have launched Let's Talk Health, a virtual speaker series connecting U of A physicians with the public on topics such as weight-loss medications, vaccines, sun safety, and workplace stress. Department chair Narmin Kassam said the nine-session series, running through June 2027, aims to help people "distinguish between information that is supported by good evidence and something that may sound convincing but isn't based on sound science." The first session is on Sept. 9 and covers GLP-1 medication.
  • A University of Alberta pilot study found that its BIG STEPS program helped stroke survivors move more and sit less after returning home from hospital. Lead researcher Victor Ezeugwu said the 12-week program, which pairs coaching from a physiotherapist with smartwatch self-monitoring, helped participants who started right away average more than 6,500 steps per day by the 12-week mark, compared with around 4,000 steps for a delayed-start group, while cutting daily sitting time by about 1.4 hours. He said the approach "could make ongoing health promotion … more accessible, personalized and available for many more people. A larger study is now planned with Canadian Institutes of Health Research funding.
  • Postmedia took a closer look at what quantum-computing company Xanadu will be exploring with a team led by Alex Brown of the University of Alberta. "This is really about making quantum computers useful," COO Rafal Janik said. "What are those killer applications?" The starting point is to see how quantum computing might be used to test photodynamic cancer therapy, as opposed to the classical computing Brown's research currently relies on.
  • Six University of Alberta students starting this fall have won the Schulich Leader Scholarship, worth up to $120,000 for high-achieving STEM students. The recipients' projects include Chloe Ge's research into AI applications for drug design, Siddhi Singh's cybersecurity writing and STEM mentorship work, Henock Seife's nanosatellite research, Joshua Kirsch's AI-powered tree-mapping platform, Kalyx Perea's video game development, and Kristy Murangwa's aerospace engineering ambitions.
  • Edmonton engineer Shiva Chaudhary completed factory acceptance testing on water-for-injection storage tanks built for Applied Pharmaceutical Innovation's sterile aseptic manufacturing facility. The tanks, tested in Missouri, will next be installed at API's Critical Medicine Production Centre facility ahead of site acceptance testing. The public can get a look at API's various facilities on Sept. 21 as part of Life Sciences Week.
  • Startup TNT has extended applications for its fall 2026 Edmonton investment summit until Sept. 21. The summit connects early-stage companies in Edmonton and northern Alberta with angel investors through a structured, team-based due diligence process. The pitch night is set for Oct. 1, with the summit finale on Nov. 12.
  • Product innovation studio BITO Lab held its soft launch on Sept. 1, running a workshop on problem framing for founders and community members. Founder Saida Barre said BITO Lab teaches human-centred design methods — including customer feedback, usability testing, and MVP development — to help solve urgent community problems, with support from the Edmonton Regional Innovation Network's Janice Baskin and Sheila Moore.
  • The full list of finalists for this year's ASTech Awards includes many health innovators. Organizer Technology Alberta will host an opening ceremony in Calgary on Sept. 18 and the awards gala in Edmonton on Nov. 6.

Social innovation

More health news

  • Alberta's dual-practice health care model — which lets specialist physicians offer both private and public services, starting with elective surgeries like hip and knee replacements — took effect on Sept. 1 under the Health Statutes Amendment Act, formerly Bill 11. The United Nurses of Alberta and other groups rallied in Edmonton against the legislation, with some protest signs describing the model as "American-style health care." Simon Fraser University policy professor Leah Shipton told the St. Albert Gazette that the UCP government's pace of health announcements suggests a push toward privatization that some believe violates the Canada Health Act's protection of access to care for those without the ability to pay. Premier Danielle Smith said the model does not violate the Canada Health Act, noting that about 400 physicians have expressed interest and no hospital will be allowed to reduce its public surgery volume. Alberta NDP critic Sarah Hoffman countered that "those who can pay move to the front of the line, while everyone else waits even longer."
  • The University of Alberta Hospital installed a weapons detection system at its emergency department entrance, becoming Edmonton's second ER with this screening after the Royal Alexandra Hospital installed one earlier this year. Patients and visitors now have to pass through screening, with secondary checks when the system flags possible prohibited items.
  • Family doctor Guy Blais is speaking out after his wife, Elaine Warren-Blais, died following a nearly 90-minute wait for an ambulance. Blais said he called 911 twice as his wife's condition worsened at their Riverbend home before an ambulance arrived; she went into cardiac arrest and was declared dead shortly after reaching the University of Alberta Hospital. Emergency Health Services Alberta said it is investigating the incident. Blais and his sister-in-law, Mona Warren, said the delay reflects a healthcare system stretched too thin, with Warren saying "the system needs to change, to be able to free (paramedics) up so that they actually go out and do the work that's required."

Happenings

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Visit the Taproot Edmonton Calendar for many more events in the Edmonton region.

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