By: Allison Currie
The Nova Scotia Health Innovation Hub brings together the right people, technologies and products in ways that ensure Nova Scotia leads in world class healthcare, and we do that through partnerships that often start with just an idea and the passion to see it through.
For Dr. Karen Cross, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon, CEO of MIMOSA Diagnostics, and Innovator in Residence at the Health Innovation Hub, that idea and that passion was the result of three key factors. First, it was seeing countless chronic wound patients within her own practice and wishing she had a way to intervene sooner to prevent further complications. Then, it was experiencing the care journey of a chronic wound patient through the lens of a family member when her grandfather Reverend Calvin Coates had a diabetic foot ulcer and ultimately died because of complications. Finally, it was meeting fellow MIMOSA Co-Founder Dr. General Leung, who was the missing piece in taking Dr. Cross’s vision of creating a simple and accessible technology that would empower clinicians to accurately assess tissue health right at the point of care and developing that vision into a working prototype.
“Within my practice, I could only see so many patients a day, and even then, I couldn’t help every patient I saw. When it comes to assessing skin health, skin really is the sixth health vital sign, yet it is the only one without an accurate and efficient diagnostic aid”, says Dr. Cross. “Seeing the challenge this gap presented both as a clinician and as a family member, I knew there simply had to be a better way to improve access to accurate skin health assessments for every patient right at the point-of-care. That goal paired with my pivotal coffee date with Dr. Leung led to the creation of the MIMOSA Pro, a solution that is now being used by countless clinicians across the care continuum.”
The MIMOSA Pro is an imaging platform that consists of a pocket-sized imaging device and a HIPAA-compliant web portal that streamlines tissue health assessments for clinicians by capturing temperature, tissue oxygenation and digital images in less than one second. The images captured are automatically uploaded to the accompanying web portal where clinicians can monitor patient progress, identify early opportunities for intervention and collaborate towards improved patient outcomes. With multiple applications for the MIMOSA Pro technology, it is a game changer for patients with chronic wounds like diabetic foot ulcers, it can aid in pressure injury prevention and monitoring and has even been useful in showing the effectiveness of vascular interventions (procedures that may be used as part of treatment).
Having commercialized the MIMOSA Pro within the United States last fall, the MIMOSA Pro has now received Health Canada approval for use in Canada. This means that Nova Scotia will be the first province in the country to implement this technology in its clinics and hospitals. Over the coming months, with support from the Wound Innovation Collaborative project, wound care clinicians will receive training with the new technology. Patients within Nova Scotia Health can expect to start seeing the technology used more widely by summer.
Although Dr. Cross is originally from Newfoundland, she practiced for over 20 years in Toronto. She recently relocated back to the East Coast, settling in Nova Scotia where she has continued to build Team MIMOSA. With this relocation and growth mindset, she felt the Health Innovation Hub could provide the type of support and partnership needed to accelerate her company’s development in Canada and help improve access to innovative care for an often-overlooked patient population, making the MIMOSA Pro available to Nova Scotians, faster. In addition to growing MIMOSA Diagnostics, Dr. Cross has spent the past year in Nova Scotia building connections within the research and tech community and leading the development of a Wound Innovation Collaborative in partnership with the Health Innovation Hub.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled with the continued success of Dr. Cross and her team”, says Brittney MacKinnon, Senior Director of Innovation at the Health Innovation Hub. “It’s incredibly gratifying to know that Karen chose us to provide the support needed to bring this innovative technology to patients faster, in a way that will positively impact patient outcomes in Nova Scotia and beyond.”
For more information about the MIMOSA Pro, visit their website: www.mimosadiagnostics.com/mimosa-pro
