For Canadian Innovation Week, Grand Challenges Canada is celebrating bold ideas from Canada, transforming lives worldwide.
KA Imaging: making diagnostic imaging accessible for communities that need it most.
Born out of research at the University of Waterloo, KA Imaging has developed a portable, affordable X-ray technology to improve the detection of TB, pneumonia, and other respiratory diseases in underserved communities.
KA Imaging received a CAD $100,000 seed grant from GCC in 2012, when its Reveal™ 35C portable x-ray unit was little more than an idea. The initial funding was used to develop a prototype capable of diagnosing TB in low- and middle-income countries. A CAD $1M convertible loan followed in 2016 to support regulatory approval and market testing.
“Early support from Grand Challenges Canada helped KA Imaging advance imaging technologies designed to expand access to diagnostics in underserved regions,” said Dr. Karim S. Karim, founder of KA Imaging. “The same innovations can also benefit Canadians by enabling better imaging in settings such as remote communities, emergency care, and critical care units.”
Today, the Reveal™ 35C is used in hospitals in Canada and deployed across 9 countries, producing more than 35,000 scans. In intensive care units, observational studies have reported that this type of imaging is associated with less reliance on chest CT scans.
In 2025, KA Imaging’s technology helped capture the first medical X-ray in space, improving healthcare on Earth while pushing the boundaries of medical imaging beyond it.
Recently, KA Imaging’s headquarters in Waterloo hosted the Government of Canada’s announcement of its investment in Grand Challenges Canada with a new CAD $200 million commitment over five years.