The Quebec medical technology industry has been working around the clock to ramp up production, develop new innovative solutions, and collaborate with our government and health system partners to fight the pandemic and help provide our healthcare heroes on the front-lines with the technologies and supplies they need to save lives. Discover some of the success stories that make us proud of being part of the worldwide MedTech community.
New Portable isolation room for hospitals to help reduce COVID-19 contamination
During the period affected by COVID-19, the IBIOM team worked to develop a portable isolation room that can be installed on transport stretchers. This chamber allows patients with or showing symptoms of COVID to be isolated during transport to the various care units. Their team is still working to develop a model that will fit on ambulance stretchers. In addition, they have adapted one of their stretchers so that it can be used for patients with the virus in intensive care that is safe and comfortable enough for a patient to remain in it for several hours / days.
The PIRH can be universally attached to most transport stretchers on the market. This product is used to help reduce the spread of the virus when a patient is transported to dedicated units.
- Once at the destination, the PIRH is removed and cleaned so the patient can be transferred.
- The PIRH can be easily removed by one or two caregivers due to its rigid structure and its light weight of 17 lb (7.8 kg).
- The tubing can be passed under the vinyl to provide IV fluids or ventilation to the patient.
- PIRH can be stacked for easy storage.
IBIOM: Founded by a healthcare professional
Founded in Montréal in 1978, IBIOM Instruments began as a manufacturer of video stations for radiology training. Thanks to an early international vision and a quality product, those video stations were sold on three continents.
IBIOM became the company it is today because founder André Choquette saw a problem and decided to fix it: as head of the cardiology department at Sainte-Justine Hospital, he realized that cardiology technicians were experiencing frequent—and, in some cases, serious—workplace injuries caused by stretching and reaching during patient exams.
In partnership with the Université de Montréal and the cardiology department at Sainte-Justine Hospital, Choquette studied the problem. But, although a solution was apparent, no companies produced a stretcher that could alleviate the source of the injuries. So Choquette decided he would design and produce a more ergonomic stretcher, and three years later the first ECHO-FLEX stretcher was rolled out: first in Sainte-Justine Hospital and then more broadly.
In 2007, Choquette sold the company to Jasmin Bibeau and Stéphane Mongeau, who moved the company from Sainte-Adèle to Sherbrooke. Since taking over, they have built on Choquette’s legacy by creating additional ECHO-FLEX models and expanding the ergonomic medical furniture offering with a range of treatment chairs and customized workstations.
