Mentions of Western Economic Diversification (WD) in this report refer to PrairiesCan’s predecessor, which served all 4 western provinces at the time of publication.
When facing heart problems in patients, doctors perform heart scans to figure out what might be wrong. Doctors know that the most comprehensive technology is cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR). Circle Cardiovascular Imaging Inc. (Circle) is a software company that develops CMR products used across the world to diagnose patients.
Established in 2007, Circle is a global leader in its field. Circle has subsidiaries in the U.S., Netherlands and the U.K. but it is based in Calgary, Alberta. Its CMR software is already used in the top 10 hospitals around the world and in more than 50 countries. It plans to bring its expertise into emerging markets, including Latin America, India and Africa.
Circle is expanding and developing new products with support from Western Economic Diversification Canada. By using artificial intelligence (AI) and new analytics tools in its imaging software, Circle will pave a new path for similar companies.
CMR is the most effective means of diagnosing cardiovascular diseases (CVD). It is a doctor's best tool because it is accurate, non-invasive and radiation-free. Right now, Circle is developing new CMR products using AI analytic tools. The new products will give doctors more accurate results and decrease their workload. Circle's expansion is also expected to create about 30 new jobs in Canada in the next two years. The firm is also expanding in additional imaging areas by creating new companies, such as Circle Neurovascular Imaging Inc., to focus on other major health concerns.
Through the Business Scale-up and Productivity (BSP) program, Circle received over $2.5 million to help fund its product development. Circle is predicted to be the first health/bioscience company in Alberta to reach over $50 million in yearly sales within 2 to 4 years.
This Calgary-based health technology company is helping improve quality of life for Canadians and people around the globe. That’s the impact of giving physicians the tools they need to accurately diagnose complex cardiovascular diseases.
Calgary company grows Alberta’s health technology sector through leading-edge imaging software (length: 2:27 minutes)
Transcript: Calgary company grows Alberta’s health technology sector through leading-edge imaging software
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Text on screen: Some scenes in this video were produced prior to COVID-19 health restrictions.
Video shows a computerized graphic image of a heart rotating, then cuts to a computer monitor showing an ultraviolet scan of the heart.
Two people sit in front of a computer talk, occasionally pointing to the screen, which displays a scan.
GREG OGRODNICK, CEO, CIRCLE CARDIOVASCULAR IMAGING (on-screen and voiceover): Circle Cardiovascular Imaging, was formed with the mission of improving patient care by delivering diagnostic cardiovascular imaging in a way that was going to be very efficient.
Which gets the answer right the first time for every patient.
Two people talk in front of their computers.
GREG OGRODNICK: The typical modality or typical treatment path for a patient with, with heart disease was typically to get a history and a physical, a chest x-ray, and probably an echo exam.
A man sits in front of a computer and then a computer screen appears with a digital scan of a heart along with graphs with data. The man opens a new screen with more data.
GREG OGRODNICK: The Swiss army knife of them all is something called Cardiac MRI.
What Cardiac MRI does and what makes it special is it actually provides the opportunity for providing information in a quantitative way. And so it's much more accurate and gives a physician a much better vision on what's wrong with the heart.
In a new location, a woman stands in front of a computer, then 2 men consider the data on a different monitor at a desk nearby.
GREG OGRODNICK: Circle is a company which is known for innovation. And innovation comes from a number of different places. But that innovation can take a while to develop, and then ultimately to commercialize.
A handful of employees sit at their desks talking and working.
GREG OGRODNICK: Having funding that can come from a group like Western Diversification, that allows us to invest in these types of initiatives, but would be very formative to the future growth of the company in 2022 and 2023.
In a different office, a man talks on the phone and other person types on his keyboard.
GREG OGRODNICK: The company has been growing quarter over quarter, at 40% growth for the last 24 quarters.
Another man sits in front of 2 monitors, typing at his desk, then the man’s fingers type on the keyboard.
GREG OGRODNICK: And so our customer growth is now growing at the same pace, and those customers are now in 50 countries around the world.
Circle is based in Calgary in Alberta. The access to talent here is truly outstanding.
A man sits, working at his desk, then his monitor shows a moving digital scan of a heart. The graphic is black and white. A different monitor has a coloured scan highlighting the digitalized heart in a torso.
GREG OGRODNICK: We've really made what was complicated simple and what was time-consuming short.
And we've done that through the utilization of machine learning and artificial intelligence.
And so we call our software by doctors for doctors.
Two men sit at a table; a monitor with a digital scan and data is between them. The man on the left is speaking and points to the screen while the other watches.
GREG OGRODNICK: They can see more patients in the day, they can have higher throughput, they can provide more accurate diagnosis and at the end of the day, they can provide better quality results.
And ultimately we can save more lives.
A scan of a heart rotates on the screen, the words “pulmonary artery” and “aorta” are hovering above specific points of the scan.
Text on screen: WD committed $2,647,000 in interest free, repayable funding to Circle Cardiovascular Imaging to develop and commercialize new products and integrate artificial intelligence into its diagnostic tools.
WD website: www.wd-deo.gc.ca and Twitter address www.twitter.com/wd_canada appear on screen.
WD Wordmark appears on screen.
Canada Wordmark appears on screen.
