Who We Are
Techna development is a core of the University Health Network focused on ushering the development and exploitation of innovations for improved healthcare delivery and outcomes.
Our Mission
Techna is designed to shorten the time interval from ideation and development to application of the healthcare innovations for the benefit of patients and the health care system. It stimulates and facilitates the innovation cycle through a continuum of clinically driven solutions, technology & process development, and translational research.
Techna represents a paradigm shift towards demand-driven activities, and the organizational alignment of the needs of the hospital and the research enterprise.
Our Programs
Techna strives to develop and bring novel solutions into clinical use. Our programs represent areas of discovery we envision to have the greatest impact on human health in the near future.
Founding Principles
1. Engagement of Academic Clinicians is essential to innovation
- Needs: Identified in the clinical environment by anyone working in the clinical environment with a mandate for innovation (i.e. physicians, nurses, allied health professionals, engineers, etc)
- Diverse: Multiple levels/types of clinical programs engaged to develop novel technologies or solutions
2. Beyond discovery to collaborative development and exploitation
- Integrate existing research assets and clinical programs from multiple disciplines throughout UHN.
- Focus on the development of novel innovations for health and improvements to clinical practice
3. Partnerships are essential for growth and deployment
- Partnerships and collaborations encompassing training, expertise, facilities, commercialization and funding.
- The institute will facilitate access for relevant partners outside of UHN (i.e. other academia or industry)