When he pitches Help Method Inc., James Drage opens by contrasting the derision showered on Toronto Mayor Rob Ford over his addiction problems with the outpouring of compassion that resulted from the news he has cancer.

In fact, said Drage, addicts have as little control over their addiction as cancer patients have over their disease. And Lawrencetown, N.S.-based Help Method is working to personalize treatment of the disease.

“Addiction is a disease of the brain and only recently has technology allowed us to treat the gaps in the connectivity of the brain,” Drage said at the

The Nova Scotia government and GE Venture have issued the following press release:

GE to Share Intellectual Property with Nova Scotia Innovative Small Businesses

Imagine having access to the intellectual property of one of the world’s largest, most innovative and most admired companies.

What would your company do with that technical know-how to improve your products and services, grow your company, or change the world?

The Government of Nova Scotia and GE Ventures Licensing want to know.

We are collaborating to connect Nova Scotia entrepreneurs to GE-developed IP as well as the

Concussion is a global health problem. For Ying Tam, CEO of Halifax-based Mindful Scientific, this means an opportunity to be part of a solution that positively impacts millions of lives.

Tam is rejoicing in achieving a milestone with St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, where his company’s concussion detector has been used to test athletes on several of the university’s varsity

Mashup Lab, an organization devoted to building startups in Atlantic Canadian rural communities, has issued the following press release:

Bring business ideas to life at Mashup WeekendSouthwest Nova Scotia

October 23, 2014 – This fall is the right time to take that business idea you’ve been chewing on and put it into action. How? By attending Mashup Weekend, Southwest Nova’s biggest ever business creation weekend. From November 21st to 23rd at three locations in Bridgewater, Kentville and Yarmouth, aspiring entrepreneurs will come together for 54 hours of breakneck business building.

After three weeks in the Propel accelerator in Fredericton, SimpTek has quickly changed its business model and already drawn the interest of at least one potential corporate customer.

The young company – comprising tech entrepreneurs Asif Hasan, Lionel Fernandes and Keelen Gagnon – is now dedicated to developing an automated system that helps people control the use of their household appliances with the goal of saving them money.

“We are a home automation solution and we help you control every appliance in your home,” said Hasan in an interview in Fredericton last week.

Sitting in a

Michael Dunbar, the leading orthopaedic surgeon in Nova Scotia, sounded a call on Tuesday for the province to adopt new flexible methods of delivering healthcare to its citizens because the current system is not sustainable.

Speaking at the BioPort Atlantic conference, he cited the simple and effective gait monitoring technology he and his team at Capital Health in Halifax have helped to devise. The project, involving three startups, is known as Mobility at Capital Health, abbreviated as “M@ch”.

Dunbar noted that that the M@ch project lets patients waiting for hip or knee replacements

NB-Biomatrix, a Saint John startup that uses nano-technology to fight water pollution, has won the fourth annual BioInnovation Challenge at the BioPort Atlantic, walking away with $45,000 in cash and in-kind services.

The company headed by Jeff Jennings and Keith Brunt beat out fellow finalists Athletigen Technologies Inc. of Halifax and Fenol Farms Inc. of Mount Uniacke, N.S., to capture the first prize. It will receive $15,000 in cash and $30,000 in in-kind services.  

“As a finalist the pitch training alone was worth participating in the BioInnovation Challenge but actually winning

HotSpot Parking, a Fredericton startup that helps downtown shoppers feed the parking meters and merchants communicate with customers, has issued the following press release:

HOTSPOT PARKING ANNOUNCES THE LAUNCH OF THE NEW “DESIGNATED DRIVER” FEATURE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH MADD GREATER FREDERICTON, NB LIQUOR AND DOWNTOWN FREDERICTON INC.

Fredericton, NB -- In partnership with MADD Greater Fredericton, NB Liquor and Downtown Fredericton Inc., HotSpot Parking is excited to announce our new “Designated Driver” feature to help fight in the prevention against impaired driving.

Through research

The finalists of the BioInnovation Challenge today are: Athletigen Technologies Inc., NB-Biomatrix Inc., and Fenol Farms Inc., which were selected by a panel of judges at the semi-finals Monday afternoon.

The BioInnovation Challenge, now in its fourth year, is a pitching competition that tries to find leading new life sciences and biotech companies in the Maritimes. It is organized by BioNova, the life sciences association in Nova Scotia, with the support of its sister organizations in the neighbouring provinces, BioNB and the P.E.I. BioAlliance. The winners will receive $15,000 in seed

More than in other countries, Canadians view universal health care as a fundamental aspect of citizenship, and Patricia Ryan believes such a national mindset will benefit her startup, Health QR.

Ryan has worked in various segments of the health-care industry, from private charities to community health groups to the provincial bureaucracy. And two years ago she co-founded her own startup to help individuals participate more broadly in their health care and assist pharmacies in communicating with their customers.

 “Starting a business like this in Canada is a huge benefit,” said Ryan,