Northern Ontario tech firms finding solutions to pandemic problems

A technology developed in Sudbury is being used to stop the spread of COVID-19.

It's a cellphone app called Therm-assure, which can scan people to tell if they have an increased body temperature.

It's being used to check employees at mine sites around the world and at i-Regained, a Sudbury firm developing a device to help stroke patients better use their hands.

"We bring our stroke patients in for trials and training and we want to make sure that they feel comfortable coming, they feel the environment is safe," says CEO Vineet Johnson.

"And from our employees' standpoint, they should be coming into the workplace not worrying about it."

The makers of Therm-assure, Sudbury-based Synaptic Technologies, is nowmarketing another system conceived during this past pandemic year.

It allows people to answer COVID screen questions without touching a screen.

An electromagnetic field detects their gestures, allowing them to direct what happens on a display screen hands-free.

"We see so many situations where touch screens are being deployed, but now we have 100 employees touching the same screen. And this completely eliminates any touch with the kiosk at all," says Michael Dolinar, the director of technology development at Synaptic.

He says in the few weeks they've been promoting the new system, they've also had interest from shopping malls and other locations that use information kiosks.