A new spin-off of the University of Valencia (UV) and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) will bring to market a biomedical imaging device for real-time cancer biopsy guidance. The technology used —industrially owned by both public institutions— provides combined metabolic and morphological data that allow a much more accurate characterization of tumors. The system also facilitates the personalization of both the diagnosis and treatment of cancer patients
The patent that UV and CSIC have licensed to the company HYBRID IMAGING SYSTEMS S.L. (HYBRIMS) refers to a novel medical device that allows, for the first time in real time, to select during cancer biopsy the most active and aggressive parts of tumors.
The technology on which this equipment is based addresses cancer diagnosis by combining, in a single device and live, clinical images that until now were only available separately and sequentially. The new system effectively combines gamma and ultrasound imaging, providing metabolic and morphological information of the tumor or sentinel node in a hybrid image, visualizing its most active or aggressive areas and allowing real-time cancer biopsy guidance. All this provides medical teams with a deeper understanding of the tumor and reduces overall treatment costs.
"Through this advance in biomedical imaging we are taking a step forward towards precision medicine, since the system enables precise and personalized cancer treatment," says Luis Caballero, a research scientist at the Institute of Corpuscular Physics (IFIC), located at the University of Valencia Science Park, and the company's main promoter. "In addition to improving the diagnosis and prognosis of the cancer patient, this new technology will mean a reduction in the number of false positives and negatives, which will help reduce the stress and anxiety of those affected," adds the researcher. The new device will be mobile, compact, lightweight and therefore highly operational.
“In addition to improving the diagnosis and prognosis of the cancer patient, this new technology will mean a reduction in the number of false positives and negatives, which will help reduce the stress and anxiety of those affected”, Luis Caballero, researcher at the IFIC
HYBRID IMAGING SYSTEMS S.L., incorporated as a Limited Liability Company (SL), has been recognized this Tuesday May 7th as a spin-off of the University of Valencia and CSIC. Both institutions participate, together with the promoters, in the share capital of the new spin-off.
Collaborative research in mixed spin-offs
The University of Valencia currently has 23 active spin-offs, mainly in the fields of Life Sciences, Engineering and Technology. Since 2005, the number of companies recognized by the institution has continued to grow and expand its fields of action, in line with its status as a generalist university.
Thus, companies derived from research in Social Sciences and Humanities, or companies in the fields of Chemical Industry, Optical Instrumentation or Physical Instrumentation, for applications in sectors such as biotechnology, biomedicine or electronics, among others, are already added to the catalog of spin-offs of the Universitat de València; a catalog that, since the beginning of this 2024, reveals an increasingly collaborative research model, with the consequent generation of joint institutional patents.
HIBRIMS is the second mixed spin-off that the UV recognizes this year and the first one together with the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC).
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