RBC Fast Pitch Competition

1st Place: Woofer

Many dog shelters are overcapacity and low on resources; on the other hand, people looking to adopt dogs often feel overwhelmed having to fill out so many applications on outdated shelter websites. Our app, Woofer, takes dogs from numerous shelters in the person’s area and matches them with the individual based on one detailed application that they filled out upon downloading the app. It’s like “Tinder for dogs”, where the potential adoptees can only see a dog’s profile if the algorithm has matched them together.

2nd Place: Birchbark Health

Birchbark Health confronts a significant challenge in rural, remote, and Indigenous communities: the lack of effective telehealth options. These communities often face a stark choice: outsource their telehealth needs to large-scale providers like Telus Health, Maple, or Tia Health, which can lead to a disconnect from local medical expertise, or rely on traditional phone calls that lack the comprehensive care telehealth can provide. Our solution, a virtual care platform developed with the Blood Tribe Department of Health, fills this gap. It offers tailored telehealth services that not only connect patients with local doctors and healthcare professionals but also integrate seamlessly with the unique healthcare needs of these communities, ensuring both access and quality in remote healthcare.

3rd Place: Fly-Able

Introducing FLY-ABLE, our mission is to reinvent accessible flying through a docking system for wheelchairs on board airplanes. Our system allows users to remain in their wheelchairs, privacy for catheters/personal care, and MAXIMUM comfort. Our solution addresses the three biggest challenges of flying for a disabled person. 

1. Tendency for damaged wheelchairs/personal injury 
2. Pressure sores 
3. Inability to use the washroom