3 Cool New Tech Developments out of Alberta, Canada

Every day, it seems there’s a new technological advance or gadget that’s announced to the public. New messaging apps, technology that can read X-rays with almost as much accuracy as a radiologist, and more. The changes are never-ending.

As a Canadian company proudly headquartered in Alberta, we’ve taken a look at some of the big innovations and advancements to come out of the province in recent years. Here are 3 of the coolest new tech developments coming out of Alberta:

Non-Aqueous Bitumen Recovery

Canada is rich with oil deposits, and Alberta has a massive collection of solid bitumen. This leads to unique, and often environmentally harmful methods of extraction.

Right now, these solid petroleum deposits are mined if they’re close to the surface, or they’re extracted using Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage if they’re deeper. Both methods require massive amounts of water, meaning the environmental impact of extraction is huge.

Founded in 2009 by Bruce Rout, Green NABR is a company dedicated to the further study and development of Non-Aqueous Bitumen Recovery (NABR). Rout invented the method, which is a highly efficient down-hole treatment for solidified bitumen that’s below the surface of the earth.

This technique reduces the viscosity of the deposits, allowing them to be extracted from the ground using less water and at less cost than traditional extraction methods. So far, the technology appears to be a less wasteful and more economical method of removing petroleum deposits in carbonates, shale, oil sand, and heavy oil formations.

Drone Farming

With farms growing in acreage and farmers becoming fewer and farther between, maintaining crop health and productivity has become more important than ever. Without proper crop monitoring, yields and profits go down, leading to food shortages and big losses for farmers.

Cropview Drone Services is a startup company that utilizes drone technology to assist farmers in the crop monitoring and maintenance process. Some ways the drones help farmers include:

• Color-coded plant health and growth monitoring for easy reading

• Elevation maps to help with planning drainage

• High-resolution digital photos and plant measurements for better data and decision-making

This information helps make farms more efficient, effective, and profitable in four main ways:

• Decreasing input costs, such as fertilizer, by identifying the areas where the input will be most effective and where it is needed the least

• Working with existing technology farmers may already use, such as Precision Farming, for more comprehensive data management

• Verifying that changes made to the fields are working, or helping farmers plan new ones

• Reducing losses by predicting problems, such as flooding or infestations, sooner

The technology also can be applied to other industries for improved efficiency and profitability, such as gravel pit inventories, wind farm inspection, progress reports on construction sites, and roof inspections.

Sleep Apnea Therapy Predictor

Millions of people suffer from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), meaning their breathing stops during sleep. This leads to interrupted sleep, poor sleep quality, and can even lead to death.

In treating OSA, patients who want to move away from being tethered to a breathing machine all night have increasingly turned to oral appliances that reposition the jaw and improve function of the airways. However, this therapy isn’t effective for everyone, which can lead to providers hesitating to prescribe it and patient frustration that treatment isn’t working.

Zephyr Sleep Technologies aims to improve outcomes of oral appliance therapy for OSA by doing a better job of identifying the best candidates for oral appliance therapy.

Zephyr offers two diagnostic tools - one that connects to sleep lab equipment to improve in-lab results, and another that hooks up to a tablet and conducts an at-home sleep study and analysis. The technology identifies those patients who are most likely to respond positively to oral appliance therapy, providing precise positioning information so doctors can design the best treatment.

Technology to Build Better Businesses

At @Assist, we know that running a small business is hard. You’ve got payroll to manage, marketing to develop, and products and services to provide for your customers. What if you could have access to all the essentials you need to run your business in one cloud-based app?

That’s possible with our suite of business management solutions! From accounting to client communications, team workflow to productivity monitoring, @Assist has something to meet your needs. Learn more today!