The Ottawa Hospital and Princess Margaret Cancer Centre partner with Gray Oncology Solutions to tackle important operational challenges in radiation oncology

January 12, 2023 (Ottawa, ON) – Gray Oncology Solutions’ novel module for radiation therapy, GrayOS, is the first of its kind to be deployed in Ontario. The Ottawa Hospital (TOH), University Health Network (UHN), and Gray Oncology Solutions Inc. (Gray), with support from OBIO^® through its Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN™), are evaluating GrayOS’ ability to build radiation therapy schedules that better manage patient wait times while using hospital resources most effectively.

GrayOS is an operating system for oncology that draws on operations research and artificial intelligence to automate and optimize patient scheduling within and across departments. GrayOS for radiation therapy has the potential to unlock additional hospital capacity that will help cancer centres treat more patients, with the same resources and quality of care.

“We hope that by implementing GrayOS, we will see an improvement in clinical workflow, a reduction in the amount of manual coordination required in scheduling, and evidence of cost savings,” said Dr. Richard Tsang, Interim Chair of Radiation Oncology at UHN’s Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.

“As treatments and processes in the radiation therapy workflow become increasingly complex, we are looking forward to seeing GrayOS make care delivery simpler and more efficient for both patients and staff,” said Dr. Srinivas Raman, the physician co-leading the evaluation of GrayOS at UHN’s Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. “The collaboration between ourselves, Gray, and OBIO^® will provide an important opportunity to evaluate a novel technology with the aim of refining systems and automating processes, which is a strategic goal of our Radiation Medicine Program.”

“Innovative healthcare partnerships like this will help streamline care in the Ottawa region by optimizing how radiation therapy patients are scheduled and treated,” said Melissa Diffey, Manager of the Radiation Medicine Program at The Ottawa Hospital. “We are grateful for this opportunity to collaborate with Gray to continue delivering high-quality radiation treatment while contributing to the overall patient experience.”

“TOH and OBIO^® have a history of collaboration in delivering high-quality and innovative solutions to address healthcare challenges,” said Dr. Alan Forster, Chief Innovation and Quality Officer at The Ottawa Hospital. “As one of our four projects with OBIO^®, the partnership with Gray is an opportunity to use innovation to help elevate and streamline how we deliver care to our patients.”

“We appreciate the enthusiasm of our hospital partners and the opportunity made possible by EAHN™ to help bring our solution to Ontario,” said André Diamant, CEO of Gray.  “A successful evaluation will provide an opportunity to engage with other hospitals to help reimagine treatment scheduling for cancer patients.”

OBIO’s President and CEO, Dr. Maura Campbell, noted that EAHN™ provides a valuable opportunity for Canadian early-stage companies to partner with healthcare organizations to test their products.  “We are pleased that TOH and UHN can evaluate GrayOS with support from EAHN™ to resolve critical scheduling issues in oncology in the interest of enhancing patient care,” Dr. Campbell said.

Results from the EAHN™ evaluation are expected in the first half of 2023. Deploying GrayOS has saved the Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal, where GrayOS was co-developed, $250K annually and reduced administrative burdens by 80%, all while improving staff satisfaction.

For more information:

Alison Jennings, Manager (acting) Digital Innovation, The Ottawa Hospital

Mark Taylor, Director, Commercialization, University Health Network

André Diamant, CEO, Gray Oncology Solutions Inc.

Bibaswan Ghoshal, Director, Market Acceleration, OBIO^®

About The Ottawa Hospital

The Ottawa Hospital is one of Canada’s top learning and research hospitals, where excellent care is inspired by research and driven by compassion. As the third-largest employer in Ottawa, our support staff, researchers, nurses, physicians, and volunteers never stop seeking solutions to the most complex healthcare challenges. Their multi-campus hospital, affiliated with the University of Ottawa, attracts some of the most influential scientific minds from around the world. Backed by generous support from the community, they are committed to providing the world-class, compassionate care they would want for their loved ones. Visit The Ottawa Hospital for more information.

About University Health Network

University Health Network consists of Toronto General and Toronto Western Hospitals, the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, and The Michener Institute of Education at UHN. The scope of research and complexity of cases at University Health Network has made it a national and international source for discovery, education and patient care. It has the largest hospital-based research program in Canada, with major research in cardiology, transplantation, neurosciences, oncology, surgical innovation, arthritis, vision, infectious diseases, genomic medicine and rehabilitation medicine. University Health Network is a research hospital affiliated with the University of Toronto. For more information: www.uhn.ca

About Gray Oncology Solutions Inc.

Gray Oncology Solutions (Montréal-based start-up) has a vision of a healthcare ecosystem with no resources wasted. In pursuit of this vision, they have developed an “operating system” which simplifies cancer treatment by streamlining workflows across multiple points of cancer care (GrayOS). Operationally, this translates to the optimization & automation of patient scheduling while explicitly incorporating the complex multi-disciplinary workflow resulting in increased access to care, reduced patient wait times, increased patient/staff satisfaction and ultimately superior patient care. Visit Gray for more information.

About OBIO^®

OBIO^®, a not-for-profit, membership-based organization dedicated to advancing health technology innovation and commercialization, is prioritizing the evaluation of new technologies through their Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN™) to provide solutions. OBIO^® is engaged in strategy, programming, policy development and advocacy to further the commercialization of human health technologies, positioning Canada as a leader in the international marketplace. Visit OBIO^® for more information.