Victoria Freeman, For The Record

Michael Mak, second from left, received the Agfa HealthCare Institute eHealth Innovation Challenge award on Saturday. The award was presented by Jeff Nesbitt of Agfa HealthCare in Canada, Lysa Taylor-Kinch of Sun Life Financial, and Chris Labrador of Research In Motion.

WATERLOO — In today’s technology-driven society, broadband internet access and 3G and 4G cellular networks are often taken for granted.

But there are plenty of places in Canada where even reliable internet service is considered a perk.

That’s why Michael Mak’s winning submission to this year’s Agfa HealthCare Innovation Challenge is refreshing in its relative simplicity: using SMS text messages sent by cell phone for patient education and communication in remote locations. Award presentations took place this weekend in Waterloo, home to Agfa HealthCare’s primary North American research and development site.

Mak, a 20-year-old McMaster University student, is already putting his idea to the test in northwestern Ontario during a learning placement.

The third-year health sciences student is working with a First Nations telecommunications provider in communities like Fort Severn to equip diabetes workers with cell phones and a computer software program so they can create text messages and send them to multiple patients. The system could allow patients to do such things as book appointments while receiving educational information and daily reminders from health care workers.

Simple cell phone and text-messaging use is fairly widespread in aboriginal communities, especially among the youth, Mak said.

“Working with the First Nations … they are a culture that teaches to use and maximize what they have,” he said. His proposal “is just built on existing systems,” he said.

Mak’s submission was among more than 60 received from across Ontario for the third-annual challenge. The top five received a trip to the finals.

“All of them really touched on access to information,” said Jeff Nesbitt, vice-president of government relations and strategic programs for Agfa HealthCare in Canada. “How to make data more accessible, how to bring health care a little closer to the patients.”

Mak’s concept “is a unique application of a technology in a rural area,” Nesbitt said.

The competition calls on post-secondary students to come up with new ideas on how to address electronic health care and health IT issues in Canada. Students aren’t constrained by traditional boundaries, Nesbitt said. “It allows us to step outside the box.”

And winning ideas could very well have real-world applications. Agfa patented the first winner’s concept for an anti-coagulant management system, and Nesbitt predicted that Mak has a bright future as well.

“I see a huge opportunity here for Michael,” he said. “I think if we don’t pick him up, somebody else will.”

Mak receives a $3,000 scholarship and summer employment at Agfa, along with a BlackBerry Torch from sponsor RIM and other perks.

Mak said he hopes the experience will help guide him to a career “building a healthier Canada for those who might not always be on the radar.”