Governments of Canada and Manitoba announce nearly $400,000 to support Orthopaedic Innovation Centre in Winnipeg

The governments of Canada and Manitoba will invest $399,647 in support of the Orthopaedic Innovation Centre, to help improve the supply chain of medical devices in Canada, in the fight against COVID-19. The Honourable Mélanie Joly, MP for Ahuntsic-Cartierville, and Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages, along with Manitoba Central Services Minister Reg Helwer announced the funding today.

The Orthopaedic Innovation Centre (OIC), located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, will use this funding to improve the medical device supply chain in western Canada. Specialized equipment will be purchased by the OIC to give Canadian manufacturers and healthcare organizations access to accredited testing services for personal protective equipment (PPE) that has been purchased from overseas.

With this equipment, the OIC will have the ability to perform numerous standard test methods for evaluating the performance of respiratory products, thereby certifying or approving a product for use in less than two weeks. The current wait time is twelve weeks.

These efforts from a Manitoba company will facilitate the availability of PPE for a safe return to work, return to school, the health and safety of front line professionals and ultimately all Manitobans.

“The Government of Canada is committed to the well-being of all Canadians,” said Minister Joly. “This $199,647 investment in the Orthopaedic Innovation Centre is to help foster a secure supply chain of critical medical products, right here in Canada. I look forward to the lab at OIC becoming an internationally accredited testing site.”

“The COVID-19 pandemic has made it clear that we need local, secure supply chains for critical medical products, including personal protective equipment, which is why we have invested in the development of local N-95 mask production with Precision ADM and others,” said Minister Helwer. “Manitoba’s $200,000 investment in this initiative will help these local companies access rapid testing of these products, ensuring our front-line health providers have the products they need to ensure safe, quality care for patients across the province.”

The Orthopaedic Innovation Centre will perform high-precision testing, measurement, consulting, product development and digital (additive and subtractive) manufacturing services on a cost-recovery basis for the medical, dental, veterinary, aerospace and other high value industry sectors.

The centre will also assess and develop new technologies related to medical, dental, veterinary, aerospace and other industry products and services. They are located in Winnipeg at the Concordia Hip and Knee Institute.

"OIC is extremely grateful for the funding provided by WD and the Province of Manitoba to support this initiative”. Said Martin Petrak, CEO of the Orthopaedic Innovation Centre. “OIC is well positioned to rapidly become an accredited filter media and respirator testing service in Canada to protect our frontline healthcare workers during this pandemic and future healthcare crises. The OIC has a proven track record for world-class medical device testing which I know will translate to success in this new service offering."

The work of the centre will be supported by the Public Health Agency of Canada, providing regulatory, and workplace health and safety guidance. The centre will also be supported by the National Research Council that will provide technical and scientific guidance along with research and innovation support.