# HelpWear

> HelpWear is a Toronto-based medical device company building the HeartWatch, a medical-grade ambulatory ECG monitor engineered for extended, continuous wear. Its signature dry-electrode, non-adhesive design avoids the skin irritation that limits traditional adhesive patch monitors, letting patients wear it comfortably for long stretches while it streams clinical-grade heart-rhythm data to physicians. The company targets hard-to-catch conditions like cryptogenic stroke, unexplained syncope and long-term arrhythmia detection, positioning the device as a tool to guide physician decisions and support telemedicine.

- **Founded:** 2015
- **Headquarters:** Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- **Founders:** Frank Nguyen (Co-Founder & CTO), Andre Bertram (Co-Founder), Dr. Derek Exner (Co-Founder & Chief Medical Officer)
- **Team size:** ~18 employees
- **Products:** HeartWatch, Extended-wear ECG monitoring platform
- **Notable:** Secured investment from all six Dragons on CBC's Dragons' Den (2017), Won the Johnson & Johnson Innovation Digital Technologies of Tomorrow QuickFire Challenge (2021), incl. $100K and JLABS residency, Won the SAGE World Cup 2016 in the Philippines

## Products & services

- **HeartWatch** — A medical-grade ambulatory ECG monitor designed for extended continuous wear. Its dry-electrode, non-adhesive design avoids the skin irritation of traditional adhesive patch monitors, enabling longer wear and better long-term arrhythmia detection. Streams near-real-time ECG data to care providers and includes an emergency contact feature.
- **Extended-wear ECG monitoring platform** — Continuous cardiac monitoring aimed at cryptogenic stroke, unexplained syncope, and long-term arrhythmia detection - supporting remote patient monitoring and telemedicine workflows.

## Achievements

- Secured investment from all six Dragons on CBC's Dragons' Den (2017)
- Won the Johnson & Johnson Innovation Digital Technologies of Tomorrow QuickFire Challenge (2021), incl. $100K and JLABS residency
- Won the SAGE World Cup 2016 in the Philippines
- Co-founder named a Thiel Fellow (2018)
- Named to CIX's Top 20 Most Innovative Early Companies (2020)
- Won $25,000 grand prize at the CNE Emerging Innovators pitch competition (2016)
- Received the Mako Student Innovation Award

## Latest updates

- **2021-09** — Awarded the Johnson & Johnson Innovation Digital Technologies of Tomorrow QuickFire Challenge.
- **2020-09** — Named among CIX's Top 20 Most Innovative Early Companies.
- **2019-05** — Dr. Derek Exner appointed Chief Medical Officer; co-founder Frank Nguyen named Ascend Innovator of the Year.
- **2022-04** — Reported latest seed-stage funding activity.

## Links

- Website: https://helpwear.ca
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/helpwear
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/helpwear_tech
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/helpweartech

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/helpwear
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-05