About

Innodem Neurosciences, a Canadian spin-off venture from McGill University’s Montreal Neurological Institute, is giving a new voice to voiceless patients due to illness (Parkinson, Stroke, ALS, Intensive Care, etc.). Our technology will enable patients to control our communication app on their smartphones and tablets using only their eyes.

Innodem Neurosciences was founded with the improvement of patient well-being as our primary goal. The current standard of communication for paralyzed or intubated patients in acute care settings is an inefficient letter board, leading to poor quality of care. The available alternative solutions to this are expensive eye-tracking products that are not necessarily reimbursed by health insurance and thus inaccessible to most. We imagined a more intuitive, mobile and affordable solution that would harness the camera embedded in existing  devices such as an iPad.

Enter Pigio, our solution for a better quality of life and care by improving communication. Starting at the Montreal Neurological Institute, Innodem founder Dr. Étienne de Villers-Sidani worked with a team of software engineers, colleagues and patients, to develop a state-of-the-art eye-tracking technology. Pigio, the mobile application that anyone can download and start using for free within seconds. Users of the app are able to control the cursor by only moving their eye, choosing various keywords or built-in phrases to express themselves. A keyboard is also available in the premium version.

In the future, we will also use our patent pending eye-tracking technology to quickly detect abnormal eye movement patterns, drawing from a cloud-based directory containing data on many neurological disorders such as ALS, concussions, Multiple Sclerosis, autism, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.