Over five million surgeries—ranging from elective procedures to life-saving emergency care—are performed across Canada every year. However, many scheduled surgeries are cancelled every day due to insufficient space, equipment, or staff. A study by the Canadian Journal of Surgery found a 14% cancellation rate for elective surgeries in one Ontario hospital, with 83.5% of these cancellations caused by administrative or facility-related issues.
These issues have been further compounded by the backlog created during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a study published in CMAJ, between March 15 and June 13, 2020, Ontario experienced a surgical backlog of approximately 148,364 surgeries, with an average weekly increase of 11,413. Clearing this backlog would require an estimated 84 weeks at a 10% surge capacity, demanding 719 operating room hours, 265 ward beds, and nine ICU beds weekly.
"The magnitude of the surgical backlog raises serious implications for recovery planning," the authors note, highlighting the urgent need for innovative solutions to optimize surgical resources and accelerate recovery timelines.
Sifio Health’s perioperative digital twin platform directly addresses these challenges. It uses artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor and optimize surgical room usage in real-time, improving efficiency and unlocking underutilized capacity.
A blend of engineering and business expertise shaped Eskander’s journey to founding Sifio Health. He earned a Bachelor of Applied Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Toronto and a Master’s in Process Engineering from the University of Western Ontario before completing his MBA at Ivey Business School.
"I pursued my MBA at Ivey because I was passionate about business and wanted to apply principles of efficiency from manufacturing to service industries. Healthcare, in particular, stood out as an area ripe for workflow optimization," Eskander says.
After years of consulting globally, including optimizing more than 500 operating rooms, Eskander and his team began to consider how to scale their impact.
"We asked ourselves whether to continue consulting or to create a scalable solution that hospitals could use independently. That’s when we pivoted—shifting from delivering reports to providing software that continuously monitors workflows and delivers real-time insights to optimize surgical processes."
Contrary to the high-drama depictions of emergency surgeries in television shows, most surgeries—around 90%—are planned. However, many hospitals lack visibility into how their resources are being utilized.
"Hospitals often don’t track key variables like staff availability, equipment usage, or how delays impact subsequent procedures. This leads to inefficiencies and inaccurate scheduling predictions," Eskander notes.
Sifio Health’s platform fills this gap by seamlessly integrating with a hospital’s electronic medical record (EMR) system. It collects and analyzes data, delivering actionable recommendations to hospital teams across various departments, including operating rooms, post-anesthesia care units (PACU), intensive care units (ICU), and medical device reprocessing (MDRD) teams.
Sifio Health’s AI-driven platform is designed for ease of deployment, requiring minimal disruption to existing workflows. By leveraging data from existing EMR systems, the platform quickly starts delivering insights, such as optimized surgery schedules, resource allocation, and predictive modelling for future capacity.
"For instance, hospitals can now predict post-surgical bed requirements and adjust schedules to balance demand across the week. This ensures better resource utilization and reduces cancellations and delays," Eskander says.
The solution has already been implemented in multiple hospitals, covering eight surgical specialties, including General, Orthopedic, ENT, and Urology. Now, the solution is optimizing 100 to 120 surgeries daily.
Sifio Health’s journey was bolstered by its participation in the Accelerator Centre’s AC Program. The startup progressed through all three phases and was recognized as one of the top 25 companies in May 2024.
"Despite my MBA and consulting experience, transitioning to a tech startup required me to relearn many aspects of business, from developing a mission and vision to crafting effective sales strategies. The Accelerator Centre helped us build these foundational blocks," Eskander reflects.
Sifio Health’s impact is already evident. Pilot sites initially viewed the platform as promising but limited in scope.
"Now, they’re using it more extensively than we ever imagined, which has fueled our momentum and demonstrated the transformative potential of our solution," Eskander says.
As the company continues to improve surgical efficiency and patient outcomes in Ontario, Sifio Health is setting its sights on expansion across Canada and the United States.
Visit sifiohealth.com to learn more about its groundbreaking digital twin healthcare solution.
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