Toronto, ON – January 6, 2022 – The Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation (CABHI), powered by Baycrest, announces its latest international partnership with FUJI CORPORATION (FUJI), a global leader in robotics and automation for manufacturing electronic devices. The new collaborative partnership will strengthen ties between FUJI and CABHI in developing technological solutions to enhance older adults’ lives. It also will amplify the reach of each company’s home markets – Japan, the United States, and Canada – by formally sharing best practices and promoting each other’s innovations in healthcare technologies for aging adults.
FUJI’s Hug robot in the CABHI innovation space
Fuji’s global headquarters are in Chiryu, Aichi, Japan, and in recent years, the company has added Innovation Offices in Silicon Valley, California and Brooklyn, New York to its established network of locations that include the United States, Germany, China, Brazil, and India. FUJI’s expansion into healthcare is part of its strategy to expand its product range. They are committed to creating new value in the longevity sector with global healthcare partners, such as CABHI, through open innovation.
FUJI’s proactive support of healthcare technologies, such as robotics for older adults, advances a key strategic goal of CABHI, too: to mobilize a global community of innovation that improves the quality of life and experience of older adults, people living with dementia, and their caregivers worldwide, delivering the best solutions to those who need them most.
As a first initiative, CABHI has brokered an evaluation project between FUJI and Baycrest’s Kunin-Lunenfeld Centre for Applied Research & Evaluation (KL-CARE). Using expert clinician feedback, KL-CARE will evaluate FUJI’s Hug, a mobility support robot that can assist healthcare providers to physically transfer clients (for example, from a bed or during toileting).
“We are thrilled to embark on this new partnership with FUJI, a global leader in innovation, robotics, and deep technological solutions,” shared Dr. Allison Sekuler, Managing Director of CABHI, Sandra A. Rotman Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience and Vice-President, Research at Baycrest. “Our new partnership speaks to how attractive Ontario and Canada are for accelerating adoption of life-changing innovations for older adults, within and beyond our borders. Testing how FUJI’s Hug supports front-line care workers in long term care homes is just the first step in what will be a long and deep partnership in the agetech sector, which is critical for our nation’s pandemic recovery and resiliency.”
As a digital-first and founder-friendly solutions accelerator, CABHI has built a community of innovators who will benefit first-hand from this new partnership. By sharing best practices and innovations closely, both nations can glean key learnings on helping to build their own individual capacity to collaborate and scale their solutions on their respective national and international stages.
“One of our tenets at FUJI is that we constantly strive to generate new value and excellence in the products we design,” added Masaaki Sugiura, Board Member, Managing Executive Officer, FUJI. “In Japan especially, a ‘super-aged’ nation with the largest proportion of elderly citizens, we stand to benefit from collaborating with CABHI and its broad network of Canadian and international markets for validating solutions in long-term care, assisted living, and home healthcare settings. In turn, we can share our approaches to creating better robotics, human behaviour monitors, and vital sensor projects in the field of healthcare and aging care technologies.”
Based in Toronto, Ontario, CABHI supports a unique cross-Canada and global network of partnerships that connect people in healthcare, research, industry, not-for-profit, corporate, and government. This network aims to aid the export of Canadian companies into international markets, and conversely, to help grow global investment and innovation opportunities inside Canada through global partnerships such as this one.
CABHI gratefully acknowledges the support of its funders, the Government of Ontario through the Ministry of Colleges and Universities, the Government of Canada through the Public Health Agency of Canada, and the Baycrest Foundation.
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About the Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation (CABHI)
A solution accelerator for the aging and brain health sector, CABHI provides funding and support to innovators for the development, testing, and dissemination of new ideas and technologies that address unmet brain health and seniors’ care needs. Established in 2015, it is the result of the largest investment in brain health and aging in Canadian history. CABHI is a unique collaboration of health care, science, industry, not-for-profit and government partners whose aim is to help improve quality of life for the world’s aging population, allowing older adults to age safely in the setting of their choice while maintaining their cognitive, emotional, and physical well-being.
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FUJI CORPORATION (FUJI)
FUJI is a global leader in robotics and automation for manufacturing of electronic devices. We are using our technology to expand into the healthcare field and create new solutions with various partners through open innovation. FUJI constantly strives to generate new value to fulfill the future dreams of the people of the world. We aim to provide the world’s best products, and to always be a company that excites and inspires customers.
Connect with FUJI:
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For all media inquiries, contact:
Rebecca Ihilchik
Senior Communications Specialist, CABHI
Phone: (647) 208-4095
Email: rihilchik@cabhi.com
George Isozumi
Executive & Chief Innovation Officer, FUJI CORPORATION
Phone: (+81 566-81-8247)
Email: jo.isozumi@fuji.co.jp
