COVID-19 return-to-work solution emerges from ISED prototype testing program

The pandemic is creating new opportunities for Canadian businesses, including new methods for monitoring COVID-19 symptoms.  

One such company is Smartcone Technologies, Inc., which specializes in industrial Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. The company has developed a simple smell test to screen people for COVID-19 in real time.

The company's system is now being tested at Ontario Tech University through a partnership supported by Innovative Solutions Canada (ISC) and has spawned a number of other research projects and partnerships. The ISC introduced a new prototype testing stream in 2020, which was formerly the Build in Canada Innovation Program (BCIP). Smartcone answered the stream's initial, COVID-themed call for proposals.

“Our main goal is to detect COVID in a low-cost way,” said Smartcone’s CEO, Jason Lee, in an interview with Research Money. “But we think we might also be able to detect if someone has had COVID-19 by looking for an altered sense of smell, and finally, to retrain an altered sense of smell in people who have had it.”

Smartcone system designed to help employees return to work safely

Loss of smell is an early and common symptom of COVID-19, occurring in more than 75 percent of people with SARS-CoV-2 infections. A recent modeling study showed that regular smell testing could be used to reduce the spread of COVID-19 at point-of-entry sites.

Detecting whether someone has already had the disease and helping with olfactory rehabilitation post-COVID are two additional use cases the company stumbled on. Lee said the company is working with researchers at the University of Ottawa who are studying how much COVID-19 modifies a person’s sense of smell and to develop a protocol for rehabilitation.

Founded in 2015, Smartcone is an Ottawa-based manufacturer of a modular IoT system that can be used in numerous ways, including health monitoring in settings where safety is a priority such as mine sites. Early in the pandemic, the company saw an opportunity to apply its technology to help workers return to work safely as the pandemic ebbs. It spun off SYMP2PASS by Smartcone, which combines a web-based health screening process with the IoT platform. 

A student or employee getting ready to go to school or work can use a symptom-screening app at home on a smart device or on-site at a smart kiosk. They scan a QR code on a scent packet—what the company calls “Smell’ems”—take a whiff of what’s inside, and answer a question to identify the smell. If correct, they receive a pass on their mobile device.

The kiosks are designed to be used in busy places such as university campuses, worksites and entertainment venues. They can also screen for fever using a thermal sensor.

No personal information is collected during screening.

Innovative Solutions Canada introduced new testing stream to fight pandemic

Smartcone answered a call for prototypes to help combat COVID-19, issued by ISC, which is designed to support R&D at small and medium-sized businesses. ISC’s Testing Stream, introduced in 2020, focuses on prototype testing, including buying, testing and evaluating pre-commercial innovations in real-life settings. Priority areas include digital infrastructure and solutions, health, safety and security, and clean tech, as well as supporting the government’s response to COVID-19. 

Ontario Tech, based in Oshawa, Ont., has existing partnerships with Smartcone and came onboard as a testing partner. For example, Ontario Tech and Smartcone joined forces, along with IBM, earlier this year to test autonomous vehicle sensors designed to detect cyclists, pedestrians and construction workers. The university has carved out a niche for itself in IoT: It has a Canada Research Chair in IoT, a dedicated research laboratory, and a software engineering program with an IoT specialization.

Ottawa Tech began testing SYMP2PASS at two high-traffic sites on campus in March. Researchers are monitoring the system’s performance and reliability and will provide feedback to Smartcone and ISC. The project is expected to continue through the summer.

“One of the things that's really exciting for us as an institution is the ability to work with companies like Smartcone, and other small- and medium-sized enterprises, to help them bring their technologies to market. That’s a key role for us and it's something that we are very excited to be part of,” Justin Gammage, Ontario Tech’s Industrial Liaison Manager, told Research Money.

Lee said that while testing and optimization is ongoing at Ontario Tech, SYMP2PASS is being used by the U.S. energy-generation company Exelon. A major amusement park company has also signed on to use the system. 

Smartcone also has plans to work with Ontario Tech professor Carolyn McGregor on optimizing the algorithms underlying SYMP2PASS, according to Lee.

“With the data being collected by Ontario Tech, we’re working with their data scientists to improve things like specificity and sensitivity and really make sure it's useful and proven," he said.

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