Tenderness. That is my word of choice for 2024.

I chose tenderness to ground me for the year ahead. Personally, and professionally.

Not as in ‘I feel pain when my abdomen is touched’, but the noun that is generally defined as a combination of love and kindness. It can also be known to encompass resilience, determination, insight, optimism, compassion, hope and empathy.

Tenderness for myself. Tenderness for others. In my work world, my play world, and all the overlapping Venn diagram bits in between. Apropos to share with my community as we close out heart health month.

February is Heart Month – Keep on Stepping

Have you embraced this year’s Heart Health Month with a little extra passion? 2024 is a leap year, we get one bonus day. Tomorrow! One extra day to act, take steps, refresh our step strategy. When was the last time you checked that little heart icon on your iPhone that automatically tracks your step count? Or are you a classic Fitbit or pedometer user? Or do you go for walking time? It really doesn’t matter which tool you use to motivate, just move. Simply putting one foot in front of the other can mean big steps forward for your heart health.

Relentless RoundUp - 20th Edition

Self-care. It has been top of mind as of late.

In September, my younger brother Billy spent 28 days in the trauma ICU.  I sat at his bedside most days. I held his hand, whispered words of encouragement to his deeply sedated being, and constantly repeated ‘You have been fixed. You are going to be okay.’ He heard me. He came back to us on Day 24. And yes, he is going to be okay.

Over the course of that soul crushing experience, one of Billy’s exceptional ICU nurses stopped me in my tracks when she asked me what I was doing to take care of myself. Me? What? It is amazing how quickly we can find ourselves slipping into non-compliance of our own health needs when focused on others. She nudged me to reflect. My personal tank was running on empty. She texted me later that night the following note:

RESET.

RESTART.

REFOCUS.

AS MANY TIMES AS YOU NEED TO, JUST DON’T QUIT.

So here is to the grand reset, as many times as we need to.

Relentless RoundUp - 19th Edition

It has been a spring season jam packed with watching sports with Dad. From hockey playoffs and multiple weekend Jays’ series on TV, to driving to the local ballpark on Tuesday night for a new season of t-ball.  A former softball coach for the village where I grew up, my 82-year-old Dad (Lloyd) experiences pure joy watching children conquering the whiff of the t-ball post.

Simple pleasures. With my dad.

Are you aware of the research on Passive Sports Engagement (“PSE”)?

Relentless RoundUp - 18th Edition

We have smart insoles. Smart knees. Self-driven neurological assessments. 3D printed pancreatic tissue. Custom small batch manufacturing. Music as Medicine.

We have precision healthcare. We are monitoring remotely. We are changing behaviour.

We have true A.I. & M.L. We have software as a medical device (SaMD), recovery curves, new technology add on payments (NTAP), and a Breakthrough Designation hat trick.

We have more than 300 filed and/or issued patents. We have know-how.

We have Deloitte’s #1 Technology Fast 50 Company to Watch. We have a pair of Life Sciences BC winners for Medical/Digital Health Company of the year. We have a LSBC Growth Stage Life Sciences Company of the Year.

We have an Indigenous health collaboration.

We are directly delivering on SDG#3 (SDG 3.4 to be precise).

We have happiness metrics.

Relentless RoundUp - JPM23 Edition

Ah, January. A month that can be counted on to bring the blues to some, the intention to reset and refresh to others. It is also the month that, for the past three decades, marks the annual pilgrimage of healthcare investors, ventures, and operators as they descend on San Francisco, affectionately known for many years as “JP Morgan Week”.

For those in the finance and business building part of the healthcare industry, it is an opportunity to refresh connections with colleagues spread across the globe, to fine tune the skill of coordinating three breakfast meetings that don’t overlap, to meet entrepreneurs dedicated to innovation in healthcare, and with the help of the now infamous ‘Novateur mobile app’, secure invites to the hottest evening socials.

 It is an exhilarating and exhausting few days, but with practice in schedule optimization, typically translates to rewarding networking, competitive insights and priming of the pipeline for new investments – all true of my experience this year.

Relentless RoundUp - Autumn Notes Edition

As we transition into shorter days, darker evenings, and a whack of wet and chilly weather we most definitely need to identify our motivators for movement. For me, at this time of year I am always motivated to get outside and witness the leaves and light changing. Why do the vibrant autumn colours surrounding my childhood home touch my soul? Nostalgia? Comfort?

And then just to be certain that there is balance in the day, wicked winds and rain pummel the trees and we are now left with gorgeous piles of ruby and orange carpets for a lawn. Perfect bunches of leaves to kick, throw in the air or roll around in. Or rake.

I am jolted back to a sense of wonder when watching the neighbourhood kids play in the foliage – roll, run, jump, pitch, and play. What is the adult equivalent to such inspiration? What is your motivation to move?

Relentless RoundUp - Summer Edition

Health innovators have been unveiling the layers of possibilities for personalized care since the human genome was first sequenced. Beginning on October 1st, 1990, and completed in April 2003, the Human Genome Project gave us the ability, for the first time, to read nature’s complete genetic blueprint for building a human being. A patient. It took more than a dozen years!

Health investors, we are a patient people. We are innately patient, I believe, because we know that on the other side of discovery, long capital raising cycles, clinical failures, clinical triumph, the relentless pursuit of data insights, and a dedication to optimizing enabling technology for care, there will be improved health outcomes. That is a powerful motivating force.

Healthcare and life science investors – we are here for the long haul. We shall continue hunting for new tech – crushing cycle, frothy cycle, down cycle, up cycle.

Relentless RoundUp - 14th Edition

February. I love the synchrony of having both Valentine’s Day and Family Day in the same month as Heart Month.

As we find pandemic friendly ways to show love to our Valentines and our families, let’s show lots of love to our beating hearts.

February is Heart Month

Team Relentless has big feelings about preventative health. When it comes to heart disease, prevention starts with knowing your risk. As outlined by Heart & Stroke, “nine in ten Canadians have at least one risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Almost 80% of premature heart disease and stroke can be prevented through healthy behaviours.”

Did you know? The number one cause of premature death for women in Canada is heart disease and stroke? That is a devastating fact.

Relentless RoundUp - 13th Edition

It is extraordinary to reflect on the fact that 2021 marks the 100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin. Canadians Banting and Best first extracted insulin from the pancreas of one dog to give to another dog with severe diabetes. The extended life of the diabetic dog was the evidence needed to fuel development of more purified forms, the ultimate life-saving product used to this day by Type 1 diabetics and worthy of the first Nobel prize awarded to a Canadian.

While insulin has not been a cure. It has been a life saver.

Did You Know That November is Diabetes Awareness Month Across the Globe?

As we approach the end of November, let’s take a beat and ensure we understand more about diabetes. With approximately one in three North Americans living with diabetes or pre-diabetes, chances are very high a friend or loved one has some form of this chronic condition.

Relentless RoundUp - Special Edition

If knees could talk, what would they say?

“Hello. Are you there? Why did you take so few steps today? Something wrong? Anything I can do to motivate you to get up off the couch today?”

Alternatively, “wait a hot minute, our cadence is snappy! Keep it up.”

Well, the knees can “talk” and the FDA likes what they have to say. FDA approval for the first, smart orthopedic product worldwide was granted on August 27th to Vancouver’s very own Canary Medical.

Whether it is tracking acute care, post-surgical recovery, or the long-term monitoring of a total knee replacement, Canary Medical has developed technology that will forever change the relationship between patient and doctor. And it just so happens that Canary is the Relentless Venture Fund’s inaugural investment. As an extra special edition of the Relentless RoundUp, we dig deep to reveal the impact the world’s first and only smart orthopedic implant approved by the FDA will have on med tech investing, remote patient monitoring and improved health outcomes. Buckle up.