Opens the doors to on-site diagnosis of diseases such as diabetes, malaria or cancer
VALENCIA, 30 Apr. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The University of Valencia (UV) has just recognized the company WF Imaging Technologies as a spin-off, a firm that will develop a computational microscope that uses artificial intelligence to obtain more precise cellular biomedical images, using non-invasive, stable technology. , affordable, easy to use and transportable.
The system, which will allow working with living cells, opens the doors to on-site diagnosis of very diverse diseases, such as diabetes, malaria or cancer, the academic institution highlights in a statement.
Computational imaging technologies that take advantage of artificial intelligence are one of the drivers of innovation in many sectors. Specifically, there is a growing interest in developing effective techniques for capturing and processing 3D cellular images, a process that, although innovative, is obtained in a complex and unstable way, using high-cost instruments that require prior cellular treatment and that They can damage the visualized cells, the University highlights.
The tool that the new spin-off will develop provides an agile and robust solution to the problem of cellular morphological imaging, since it corrects the drawbacks of previous techniques.
“Unlike the technologies already implemented, this does not require cell staining, which allows working with living cells without damaging them,” explains Manuel Martínez Corral, professor of Optics at the University of Valencia (UV) and promoter of the spin-off together to Genaro Saavedra Tortosa, also professor of Optics at the UV.
“In addition, it allows 3D and 4D analysis, that is, in real time, to monitor living cells. We are talking about an affordable technique, flexible in its implementation and stable, so that there is no need for specific temperature conditions or anti-vibration systems that guarantee robust behavior,” adds the scientist.
The final device will take up little space, which will facilitate its transportation, and its application in Point Of Care is planned, opening the doors to in situ diagnosis of diseases that induce morphological changes at the cellular level, such as malaria or cancer.
Through the agreements closed this Monday, April 29, WF Imaging Technologies is established as a Limited Liability Company (S.L.), and the University of Valencia licenses the spin-off, for its exploitation in global territory, a patent of its ownership and results. of 3D Imaging research activity
The new spin-off has as partners the researchers themselves and the University of Valencia, among others, and has the support and investment of the NLC Health Ventures fund. Wilson Gomes, an executive with experience as a director in multinational companies in the diagnostic and medical devices sector, will occupy the position of CEO of the company.
