Infonaut is now an official Vendor of Record in two categories with the Ontario Ministry of Government Services.

Infonaut was selected as one of the successful Proponents for the Vendor of Record Arrangement for Task-based I&IT Consulting Services in GIS Technologies: Geographic Information Systems, Task-based I&IT Consulting Services in Web Technologies: Web Services (as of Oct 1st), and for the Vendor of Record Arrangement for General Management Consulting Services (as of Sept 12th).

As an experienced and standout Canadian company in these areas, we are pleased with this formal recognition of all we have to offer.

For more information on how we can leverage our experience for you, please contact Hugh Williams at hwilliams@infonaut.ca.

Outbreaks of hospital-acquired infections (HAI) have hit hard this year in Ontario, BC and Quebec. C.difficile, MRSA (methicillin-resistant S. aureus) and other “superbugs” are challenging our healthcare institutions and the way we control the spread of disease within hospitals. Hospital-acquired infections are a growing fear in the public’s mind, litigation is on the rise, and millions are spent on new cleaning protocols alone.

But hospitals still lack the fundamental means to track the spread of these outbreaks within their walls. Hospitals aren’t able to isolate where contamination occurred and how it is spreading, and so time and resources are spent starting from scratch every time. To get ahead of infection spread, hospitals need the right information and the right tools to deal with the problem. Right now, they have neither — pushing them into costly heavy-handed approaches, ineffective at improving patient safety.

Infonaut Inc is partnering with the Sault Ste Marie Innovation Centre (SSMIC) to create a precision infectious disease risk-management tool, the Intelligent Infection Control application, which has recently secured the financial backing of the Ontario government.

David Orazietti, MPP for Sault Ste Marie, announced in October, 2008 that the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC) is providing Infonaut and SSMIC with half the funding required to complete development on our hospital disease outbreak risk management application.

“We recognize the importance of supporting the development of this unique system that could help staff manage the spread of infectious diseases at SAH while creating a value-added product for use throughout the healthcare sector,” said David Orazietti.

“This system has the potential to enable up-to-the-minute information sharing so crucial in a hospital setting where staff need the most relevant information possible to make important medical decisions,” said Northern Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle, chair of the NOHFC.

When complete, Infonaut’s Intelligent Infection Control tool will help hospitals track and contain outbreaks such as C.difficile before they can spread. The application dynamically updates the risk profiles of people, places, and things which affect C.difficile associated disease (CDAD) rates. Using Real Time Location System (RTLS) tag technology, hospitals can literally see who and what infected patients have interacted with, where they have been, and which equipment has been in close proximity to them – turned into actionable information.

Hospital GIS is capable of graphically depicting a history, showing where items have been and when, while an analytical extension can determine potential commonalities and high-risk contacts. The application applies GIS technology to determine the spatial relationships and contacts between risk-profiled people, places and things. The profiles are dynamically generated: as people and assets interact with each other, associated risk levels change to reflect new inputs.

“We are very excited to be working on this project with Infonaut Inc and the potential it brings to the healthcare industry,” said Infonaut partner Tom Vair, Executive Director, Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre. “This innovative health IT product will help health stakeholders control the spread of infectious diseases such as C.difficile. In the future, we hope that hospitals, long-term care facilities and other health facilities will be able to use this system to help manage and reduce the impact of future number of disease outbreaks.”

.An early prototype solution was applied at the Sault Area Hospital (SAH), a provincial leader on C.difficile management (with 0.21 cases per 1000 patient days – one of the lowest infection rates compared with hospitals of similar size). In January 2007, the SAH applied learnings from this project to the development of the Intelligent Infection Control solution, as part of their investigation into a C.difficile outbreak. They found it provided decision makers with a valuable graphical representation of movement within the hospital, and excellent potential applications towards improving patient safety.

“The Sault Area Hospital is pleased to collaborate on this innovative solution with the Innovation Centre and project partner Infonaut,” said Marc Bouchard, Chief Information and Privacy Officer, Sault Area Hospital. “The project will see the development of what should be an interesting tool that could assist our ongoing efforts in infection control and prevention. It is great to see this type of solution being developed right here in Sault Ste Marie.”

To learn more about this product, or if you’re interested in the Intelligent Infection Control solution for your organization, please contact Hugh Williams at [hwilliams@infonaut.ca].

The US Army Corps of Engineers is turning to Infonaut for help with their geography, with Infonaut’s blog (written in-house by Sevaan Franks, Product Manager) recently added to their list of GIS internet resources.

This resource maintains an index of web pages providing the latest information on GIS topics. Visit it online here.

As we continue to grow, Infonaut is looking for a Chief Technical Officer (CTO) to join our senior management group and lead our development team. We’re seeking an IT professional who has the experience to become an expert in our existing technology, and the vision to push it to the next level.

Qualified applicants will have extensive and well-rounded knowledge of GIS technologies, database management systems and system development across various technical environments. The ideal candidate will have a Masters or PhD in computer science, business administration or a related field.

An applicant who is Infonaut material is passionate about continuous learning, is able to work in development, management and technical spheres, and is looking for an opportunity to take a leadership position with a young, growing company.

We want to take our products further, and are willing to invest the resources necessary to build next-gen technology. We offer a flexible work environment where you’ll be supported by an experienced team.

Infonaut offers competitive salaries and a comprehensive benefits package.

If you are up for the challenge, Infonaut would like to hear from you. Contact Matt McPherson at mmcpherson@infonaut.ca or 416-607-6260.

Infonaut is pleased to bring Colin Furness on board as our Director of Knowledge Management. With Colin on the team, we’re accelerating Infonaut’s internal expertise in system design, and enhancing our ability to identify and take advantage of new networking technologies.

Colin is completing a PhD at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information, studying predictors for the effective use of collaborative information systems for knowledge work. He has fifteen years’ experience in cognitive & social psychology, information systems analysis, interface design methods, usability and user-centred design, and the social impacts of technology.

Funding from the Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) made this hire possible. Successful applicants to the OCE are provided grant funding to employ an academic researcher. This facilitates the exchange of ideas and experience between academics and industry, providing relevant practical knowledge to researchers while keeping industry informed and in touch with the latest academic advancements in their field.

Only one-third of applicants to the OCE program this year were successful in receiving funding. Companies must prove that they will make good use of an academic researcher’s time, and that hiring the researcher enhances the competitiveness of their organization. We’re pleased that OCE decided to make this funding available to Infonaut. We look forward to Colin’s contributions to the Infonaut team, keeping our products and services on the cutting edge.

To get in touch with Colin directly, send him an email at cfurness@infonaut.ca.

Infonaut continues to grow, and now in a new direction — North. Andrew Bostelaar joined Infonaut at the beginning of August, and is supporting our team as a developer in the Sault Ste Marie office: our first Saultellite.

Bringing Andrew on board is another step forward in improving Infonaut’s ability to bring effective, timely solutions to market. Building our in-house development team allows us to be more responsive to innovation opportunities, to build topical prototypes and lightweight solutions, and to customize our products to meet our client’s needs.

Andrew’s work will be central to Infonaut’s future growth, as he assists with research and development on our Hospital Infection Control application, co-developed with the Sault Ste Marie Innovation Centre.

Northern Ontario is well represented in many of Infonaut’s projects, clients, and partners, and now we are there in person.

As part of our continued expansion and pursuit of new opportunities, Infonaut have opened a satellite office in the North. Infonaut services have been available virtually all across Ontario (and Canada) since 2003. But we’re crossing over from the virtual to the concrete, and setting up a new branch office in Sault Ste Marie — Infonaut are becoming Saulties.

Our downtown Toronto office will remain the same, operating in the centre of trendy Liberty Village in the King West area. So while we’re still at 43.638039 by -79.425584, you’ll also be able to find us at 46.5183 by -84.34793.

This expansion represents another joint endeavor with Infonaut’s longtime partner, the Sault Ste Marie Innovation Centre (SSMIC). Our Sault Ste Marie location will be specialized in the continued improvement and pursuit of excellence in applying GIS to hospital health decision-making. Development staff at this location will be engaged in the development of three GIS-based solutions: Community Pandemic Simulation, Live Syndromic Surveillance, and Hospital Intelligent Tracking.

Both of our offices are growing, and we’re always looking for dynamic individuals to join our team. For a complete list of opportunities with Infonaut, visit us at http://infonaut.ca/about/jobs.html, or contact us at careers@infonaut.ca.

From zero service coverage to redundant service delivery, Infonaut is working with the Central CCAC and community agency partners to track the locations, gaps, and overlaps of the health service providers within their region.

This project was based on previous efforts to create geographic information for the innovative service access initiative “Doorways to Care” (DWTC). DWTC involves the Central CCAC services and also the many community support provider agencies including: day programs, social work, recreation, transportation, delivered meals and home health.

Working directly with the service providers, Infonaut asked them to self-identify their delivery area.

The way this self-identification was done demonstrates the versatility of Infonaut’s solutions. Providers did not have to become familiar with any new technology, instead they were able to draw the boundary around their delivery area on a hard-copy version of the map. Literally outlining their service region with a coloured pencil.

Infonaut then translated the hard-copy maps into boundary files, digitally delineating the service area for each provider and service type.

Different service providers may use different methods to keep track of their geographic boundaries, but it all becomes consistent when you draw it on a map.

The process Infonaut used to make this data available to all of the twenty-one DWTC organizations (including the CCAC) in a GIS-format is very simple, easily replicable, and aligns existing data in dramatic way.

Infonaut will enable the Central LHIN’s DWTC network to understand when an under-populated area is receiving a higher than required level of service, when a heavily populated area is receiving a lower than adequate level of service, as well as all the combinations in-between. Overlapping service areas are immediately apparent, as are areas which are receiving no service at all.

Efficiency in the day-to-day operations of community agencies is also supported by this project. Using postal code data, the DWTC members can more efficiently match calls requesting service with the nearest service provider. This is especially useful for services which are targeted to elderly or disabled clients, where proximity may be a significant factor in how comfortable they are accessing the services, as well as influencing the “feel” factor — how satisfied the clients are overall with their services.

In addition to the more obvious benefits, the maps have a number of bonus applications. DWTC agencies will now, for instance, have the opportunity to make their services more eco-friendly — by using the geographic data to determine optimal routes within delivery areas. Improved efficiency on car-based services, such as the meals-on-wheels program, saves the volunteer drivers excess driving time, saves the program gas and depreciation expenses, and makes the program greener and more effective.

For details on how to create a similar service provider map for your area, contact Hugh Williams at hwilliams@infonaut.ca.

Catch up on the latest news and newest products from Infonaut in our Spring 2008 newsletter. Read about our Infectious Disease Simulation Tool, meet our new VP of Business Development, find out where you can see Infonaut live in the next few months, discover our Hospital Intelligent Tracking Tool, and much more.

Read it all online here.

Infection control in Canadian hospitals has reached a critical point.

Outbreaks of antibiotic-resistant infectious disease in hospitals are more common and less well-controlled than Canadians think. In the last five years, 2000 people have died in Quebec from Clostridium difficile (C. difficile). Throughout Canada there are 8000 deaths per year directly attributed to diseases caught while in hospital. That’s equivalent to the combined number of deaths caused by traffic accidents and breast cancer.

Responding to this emerging threat, Infonaut and our longtime collaborator the Sault Ste Marie Innovation Centre (SSMIC) are developing an intelligent hospital infection control application, one that will put actionable information in the hands of those managing this crisis.

This is especially timely as recent outbreaks of Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) in Ontario hospitals are drawing public, and government, attention to this serious health and safety issue. So much so that, during his term as Ontario Minister of Health, George Smitherman made reporting on outbreaks of C. difficile mandatory by September 30th of this year.

But back in 2006, Infonaut’s partner SSMIC had already begun addressing this problem. Following on an outbreak at the Sault Area Hospital (SAH), SSMIC completed a case study showing the efficacy of GIS in dealing with hospital infections, specifically demonstrated on “superbug” diseases such as C. difficile.

Infonaut and SSMIC are now working to translate this proof-of-concept project into a full-fledged GIS solution — designed to help decision makers address this too often overlooked gap in health system safety.

Our Hospital Intelligent Tracking leverages radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology and geomatics software, mapping hospitals in three dimensions and computing spatial relationships such as distance, connectivity and directional relationships between entities. This allows for the visualization of raw data and spatial analytic results within a 3D hospital map: leading to more efficient and accurate response strategies, targeting the specific hospital equipment, patients, and staff involved in and affected by an outbreak.

Contact us for more information on Hospital Intelligent Tracking.