Dr. J. Breanne Everett is the CEO and co-founder of Orpyx, as well as a medical doctor and resident in plastic and reconstructive surgery at the University of Calgary. She was one of six inaugural winners of the Governor General’s Innovation Award in 2016. Dr. Everett co-founded Orpyx Medical Technologies to develop her idea for shoe insoles that prompts patients with diabetic foot conditions to move their feet to improve blood flow. This unique, wearable technology has improved users’ quality of life and reduced health care costs by decreasing the risks of sores, infection and amputation caused by diabetes-related nerve damage and poor circulation.
“It’s an incredible honour to be part of a group of highly accomplished individuals and companies. We were still very much in start-up mode when we won in 2016, and I can’t overstate the impact of such a prestigious award at such an early stage. The publicity has opened up opportunities with new partners who had not been aware of our work before. The award has been very valuable in being this extremely powerful vote of confidence for what we are doing.”
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The Governor General’s Innovation Awards, a collaboration between the RHF and the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General, have been awarded annually since 2016. This year’s laureates will be announced in May 2018 during Canadian Innovation Week.
