Innovators specializing in retinal-imaging technology, 3D printing and water purification were among the big winners walking away with six-digit cheques at the annual B.C. Innovation Council’s Ignite Awards.
The Crown agency awarded $990,000 in funding to early stage companies from B.C. in a Wednesday (March 28) award ceremony in Vancouver.
The team at Seymour Vision was handed $300,000 to pursue a retinal-imaging scanner that could potentially scan eyes down to the cellular level.
Entrepreneurs Dr. Manish Kulkarni and Dr. Marinko Sarunic are aiming to use the technology to help diagnose eye diseases before vision loss occurs.
Advanced BioCarbon 3D CEO Darryl Fry and Jason Taylor were also awarded $300,000 in funding to develop a process extract to lignin from wood that could produce biodegradable plastics and carbon fiber at an industrial scale.
And Acuva Technologies’ Manoj Singh and Dr. Fariborz Taghipour received $300,000 to help develop a water purification device requiring no maintenance and capable of working off the grid.
Another $90,000 in prize money was awarded to Muddy River Technologies’ Dr. Rob Stephenson and Kelly Sveinson, who are trying to find a cost-effective means of removing phosphorous and nitrogen from animal manure using a magnesium electrocoagulation process.
