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The company was formed in 2015 out of a garage before finding a home with TEC Edmonton.

Starting with lungs and then finding solutions for hearts, livers, kidneys and limbs, Tevosol has created a portable warm perfusion machine — about the size of an ice cooler — that has completed a successful clinical trial with plans to pilot commercially in Canada toward the end of 2020.

But it’s not an organ shortage in outer space prompting Tevosol to pitch its device to NASA. Areas of their research, such as on hibernation and radiation, can be of use in space, Nagendran said.

Space scientists are studying the idea of hibernation for astronauts during deep space travel and Tevosol’s research for long-term hibernation of organs could be a way forward. Astronauts are also exposed to high levels of radiation and the technology can be used to store limbs or live tissue.

“This opportunity for a company like us being based out of Edmonton is significant,” said Nagendran, with Tevosol also now having opened an office in Houston, Texas. “The exposure itself is really the victory at this point.”

Similar to Tevosol, ez enRoute was created by Edmontonian Amit Anand trying to solve an issue he noticed around safety. Using his technology background, he began developing an autonomous security platform that can track movement or incidents — such as falling — without GPS or Internet.

“The International Space Station is growing massively with tons of equipment. This can help access equipment faster and all asset monitoring in outer space,” he said.

Anand said they were supported by Edmonton company Aris MD in pitching their idea to NASA and hope to experience the same success — Aris MD won the top overall prize last year.