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About Us
Crafting the future of intuitive experiences
NZ Technologies is pioneering a new category of human machine interaction: intelligent sensing that reads the human hand through glass, gloves, sterile drapes and even air, without cameras and without requiring physical contact. We design, manufacture and support the complete technology stack, from our proprietary sensing hardware and HoverCore™ engine to embedded firmware and software, backed by a portfolio of more than 45 patents. Our technology is proven in some of the world’s most demanding environments: FDA cleared and used daily in hospital operating rooms, while also being deployed through OEM partners across defense, public safety, industrial and self service applications worldwide. Headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.
Our pillars Innovation Research and Development Advanced Manufacturing
Leadership
The team that designs, builds and supports HoverTap™ for OEMs and integrators.
Dr. Nima Ziraknejad
Founder and CEO
CHAIR OF THE BOARD
24 years in robotics, machine vision and human machine interaction. 45+ patents.
Dr. Nima Ziraknejad founded NZ Technologies in 2015 and leads the company as CEO and Chair of the Board. With over 24 years in robotics, machine vision and human machine interaction, he has taken research from the lab to commercial products in healthcare, mining, oil and gas, automotive and retail.
Under his leadership NZTech developed and commercialized the FDA cleared TIPSO™ AirPad, HoverTap™ MD and the HoverTap™ touch and in-air gesture module, and built partnerships with Barco, Stryker, Olympus, Shimadzu Medical, Siemens and Philips. NZTech was named BC Tech Company of the Year, Startup Success, in 2020.
A Professional Engineer with a PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from UBC, he holds over 45 international patents. He was a founding member of Motion Metrics International, later acquired by Weir ESCO for close to $200M, and led the development of a 3D machine vision system for military de-mining excavators at Defence R&D Canada.
Pranav Saxena
Chief Technology Officer
Founding inventor of TIPSO™ and HoverTap™. Leads the HoverCore™ engine. 15+ patents.
Pranav Saxena is a founding inventor of TIPSO™ and HoverTap™ and has led NZTech's engineering since the company's early days. A Professional Engineer with over 13 years in hardware and software for medical and industrial applications, he directs the HoverCore™ sensing engine, embedded systems, sensor development and OEM integration.
He has led the company's clinical trials and international regulatory approvals, holds over 15 patents, and has taken touch and in-air gesture technology into hospitals worldwide. Under his technical leadership NZTech secured partnerships with Philips, Olympus, Barco, Siemens and Shimadzu.
He holds a BASc in Engineering Physics (Electrical) from UBC and manages a team spanning biomedical engineering, embedded software, PCB design, manufacturing and sensor technology.
Will Rau
Director of Engineering
Runs hardware, firmware and software delivery for HoverTap™ and OEM design-in support.
Will Rau is Director of Engineering at NZ Technologies. He runs day to day engineering delivery for HoverTap™: hardware, firmware and software releases, test and validation, and production readiness with contract manufacturers.
He works directly with OEM and integrator engineering teams on evaluation units, custom sensor sizes and design-in support, so a display or kiosk manufacturer gets a working HoverTap™ integration on the first build.
Nasim Jahangiri
Director of UX Design
19 years designing interfaces. Designed the UIs behind FDA cleared products in hospitals.
Nasim Jahangiri leads UX and interaction design at NZTech, with over 19 years designing intuitive, high performance interfaces. Over nine years at the company she has led the design of the graphical user interfaces behind FDA cleared products now used in hospitals, turning complex clinical workflows into streamlined experiences for surgeons and clinicians.
Her work spans the full design process, from low fidelity prototypes to final interfaces, backed by extensive usability testing in demanding healthcare environments where precision matters.
She trained in Architecture before moving to New Media Design and specializing in UX and Interaction Design at SFU's School of Interactive Arts and Technology.
Board of Directors
Independent directors from life sciences, venture capital, interventional radiology and medical device commercialization. Chaired by Nima Ziraknejad.
Dr. Lesley Esford
Director
Former President, LifeSciences BC. NRC IRAP advisor to 100+ companies.
Dr. Lesley Esford is the former President of LifeSciences BC. She received her PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from UBC and has spent many years in academia, industry and government in roles supporting the growth of the life sciences sector.
Since 2006 she has worked as an Industrial Technology Advisor for NRC IRAP, helping over 100 entrepreneurs develop a wide array of products and services at every stage of the innovation process, from concept to commercialization.
Dr. Kaley Wilson
Director
Principal, Quark Venture. Board member at Canary Medical and Microbion.
Dr. Kaley Wilson is Principal and Director of Business Development at Quark Venture, a global health science venture capital group based in Vancouver, where she identifies and evaluates investment opportunities with the firm's Investment Committee.
She has served as interim CEO of ARTMS Products, securing significant financing and building a global sales and marketing strategy, and as interim CEO of Sitka, a biotherapeutics company. She holds board positions at Canary Medical, Microbion, IOME and Crohn's and Colitis Canada, and advises Ontario Bioscience's Capital Access Advisory Program.
Previously Associate Director of Partnerships at the Centre for Drug Research and Development, she earned her PhD at UBC.
Dr. David Liu
Director
Interventional Radiologist. Associate Professor of Radiology, UBC.
Dr. David Liu is an Interventional Radiologist and Associate Professor of Radiology at UBC, with appointments at Vancouver General Hospital, UBC Hospital and the BC Cancer Agency.
He is active in clinical research in novel embolic platforms and cancer related thromboembolic disease, and brings the clinician's view of image navigation in the sterile field to NZTech's product decisions.
Michael Fish
Director
CEO, Pacific Surgical. 30 years in medical device sales and distribution.
Michael Fish is CEO of Pacific Surgical, which he has grown over the past decade into a group of six subsidiaries covering a wide range of surgical devices and services.
He has worked in the medical device space since the early 1990s, beginning in neurosurgical instrument sales, and brings deep knowledge of the Canadian healthcare market and beyond to guide NZTech's commercial expansion.
NZ Technologies took part in the Canadian AI in MedTech and Digital Health mission to Taiwan, presenting HoverTap™ and TIPSO™ to clinicians, researchers, display manufacturers…
NZ Technologies is deploying HoverCore™ across real hospital environments at the new St. Paul's Hospital through the PURE Living Lab, a project launched in collaboration…
NZ Technologies and Providence Health Care Ventures have been awarded $350,000 through British Columbia's Integrated Marketplace Health Testbed to test HoverCore™ in live hospital environments.…
Join the team
We are hiring embedded firmware, sensing and applications engineers in Vancouver. If you want to ship hardware into hospitals, kiosks and defense programs, we would like to hear from you.
See open roles Contact us