In 2022, a near tragedy took Christopher Silver’s life in an unexpected direction.
“After getting out of bed one night, my grandmother fell and hit her head on the corner of a coffee table and had to be flown from Fort Frances, Ontario, to Thunder Bay for emergency surgery,” Christopher says. “She lay there for 12 hours before she was discovered and needed almost four months of rehabilitation. Although my grandmother owned a fall-detection pendant, she’d forgotten to put it on. I can’t imagine how afraid she felt being alone on the ground for hours and hours.”
At the time of his grandmother’s accident, Christopher was a fourth-year Lakehead software engineering student working on his capstone project—a mandatory assignment that challenges each graduating student to come up with a product or tool that solves a real-world problem. Christopher and a fellow student decided to develop a fever detector that could be used in public spaces, such as retail stores, to stop the spread of illnesses. “This was during the back half of the COVID lockdowns,” he explains. Although it was a good concept, they abandoned the project after learning that other companies were working on the same idea.
This setback ultimately led Christopher to pursue a new capstone project sparked by his grandmother’s medical emergency—his soon-to-be released Vantage Protection software—and to found the company Silver Vantage Software.
Vantage Protection is a hands-free fall detection device for homes that can be installed on the ceiling of any room, much like a smoke detector. The software will automatically call a customer when a fall occurs, and if they don’t respond, it will call emergency services or notify caregivers through its mobile app.
“Vantage Protection is designed to create peace of mind for families while allowing seniors to maintain their independence,” Christopher says.
On the Ascent
Christopher’s capstone supervisor— software engineering professor Dr. Thangarajah Akilan—was so impressed with Christopher’s idea that he encouraged him to apply for Lakehead’s Ascend Accelerator program. “Dr. Akilan always gives me good advice and he’s been so supportive,” Christopher says.
Ascend is a 10-week summer program that provides mentorship, resources, and expert advice for Lakehead students and alumni interested in transforming an idea into a business, or in growing a start-up company in the early stages of its development.
Christopher attended both the 2022 and 2023 Ascend programs. In the first session, he fleshed out Vantage Protection’s premise and system requirements and, in the following session, he built a better prototype and created the app that will send alerts to caregivers.
“The weekly workshops Ascend arranged for us were very helpful in expanding my business knowledge and entrepreneurial skills,” he says. “Ascend had lawyers, accountants, marketers, and other professionals come in and talk to us.”
Christopher is particularly grateful for the assistance he received from Alyson MacKay, who runs the Ascend program and is the manager of Ingenuity—Lakehead University’s business incubator.
“I was accepted to both the University of Waterloo and Lakehead University’s software engineering programs,” says Christopher (Dipl Eng Tech’20/BEng’22/MSc’24). “I chose Lakehead because it was the unconventional path that felt right in my gut. I thought that I’d have richer experiences at Lakehead and that I wouldn’t blend in with the crowd.” Christopher (left) displays his 2023 Young Innovator of the Year Innovation Award.
“Alyson put a lot of effort into figuring out what we needed most, and she introduced me to Dr. Michael Dohan, a Lakehead business administration professor, who guided me through my business plan and connected me with business partners. I wouldn’t be where I am if it weren’t for Alyson and the whole crew at Ingenuity.”
This intensive mentoring has enabled Christopher to build an ingenious device that uses a thermal camera and a sensor to provide rapid emergency assistance to seniors in distress.
“The thermal camera detects infrared energy and records heat maps of the room it’s installed in,” Christopher says.
“If you look at the camera’s feed, you won’t see video footage or photos, instead, you’ll see different colours representing different temperatures. If the room is empty, everything will be blue. If someone walks through that room, there will be a red shape as the camera picks up their heat signature. If a person has fallen, the red patch will be elongated because they are lying prone. Their heat signature will also be a lighter red because their body temperature will begin dropping.”
As soon as someone falls, the thermal camera will send a message to a sensor, which will prompt a call to the customer from an emergency call centre. “Vantage Protection has a microphone so that the call centre can ask the customer if they need assistance, and, if so, dispatch emergency services. If the customer doesn’t respond, we will assume that the person is unconscious and send help—this will cut down on false alarms and costs.”
Testing, Testing, Testing
Christopher (far left) and his fellow 2023 Ascend program graduates celebrate their achievements. Christopher's Vantage Protection product preserves the privacy of its customers because it uses heat mapping instead of video surveillance to scan for falls.
After finishing his undergraduate degree, Christopher enrolled in Lakehead’s Master of Science in Engineering program and, for his master’s thesis, he conducted further testing on his software to improve its accuracy in detecting falls.
“We conducted experiments in which we filmed people falling on safety mats,” Christopher says. “And we made an effort to recruit older adults as well as younger adults, because older adults don’t move in the same way, and they fall more slowly than younger adults.”
A physiotherapist reviewed these simulated falls to provide feedback and a machine-learning program analyzed the footage to more effectively pinpoint whether a particular movement was a fall or a normal movement such as walking.
Moreover, Christopher’s Silver Vantage Software company is developing new products in addition to his Vantage Protection product. He’s in discussions with a foundation that advocates for people with dementia because Vantage Protection has the capacity to send alerts to caregivers when someone with dementia becomes confused and wanders from their home.
Similarly, people with heart problems and other health conditions could benefit from the device.
“One of my best friends wants one installed because she has epileptic seizures that can cause her to lose consciousness. It could also send alerts if a stove is left on or be used for security purposes by warning homeowners if someone breaks into their house.”
Christopher is now in the final stages of product development and hopes to release Vantage Protection in the coming months. Alpha tests in 10 homes are planned for early 2025, and a beta test in approximately 250 homes will begin after the company receives grants from funding partners.
“I’d encourage anyone who has an idea to follow it, especially if it has the potential to help other people,” Christopher says. “I could have just as easily forgotten about mine, but I’m glad I didn’t. It’s changed my life.”
Visit the Silver Vantage website at silvervantagesoftware.com