Technology innovators in super-resolution microscopy, Amsterdam-based Confocal.nl, have been selected as one of ten winners of the Academic Startup Competition in the Netherlands, an initiative of the Association of Universities (VSNU), the Netherlands Academy of Technology and Innovation (AcTI) and StartupDelta

Nominated as one of 28 Dutch technology companies, Confocal.nl were named as one of ten winners of the Netherlands Academic Startup Competition organised by the Association of Universities (VSNU), the Netherlands Academy of Technology and Innovation (AcTI) and StartupDelta. Their award enables them to pitch for future investment at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) and may go on a trip to Silicon Valley sponsored by the Ministry of Economic Affairs. There they will have the opportunity to learn how they can scale up their innovation faster and thus take the step from startup to scale-up.

Speaking at the awards ceremony, Dutch State Secretary Mona Keijzer said “Academic startups are extremely important for the Netherlands because of their often innovative breakthroughs that have an impact on society in all sorts of ways. The 10 winners show that Dutch universities and institutes play on the highest global stage.” This opinion is shared by Pieter Duisenberg, chairman of the Association of Universities (VSNU). He said “Academic startups build a bridge between science and society: they convert ground-breaking science in tangible innovations and that is very valuable. These 10 startups show that our efforts to promote entrepreneurship at the university are bearing fruit and I am proud of that. We want to continue to focus on this in the future.”

Accepting the award for Confocal.nl was Chief Operating Officer, Mariliis Tark-Dame. “It is fulfilling to receive this award recognising the efforts of our founders, Erik Manders & Peter Drent, who had the vision for the need for affordable, fresh technology in the competitive world of imaging in the health & life sciences sectors. After three years, we now have our second generation of product coming to the market backed by a team of young, motivated scientists who share our startup philosophy: to change the microscopy industry with a confocal microscope based on the re-scan invention: the Re-scan Confocal Microscope (RCM). RCM combines the super-resolution capability with higher sensitivity than most confocal microscopes.  This award makes us feel proud and will help drive us forward to the next stages of our growth.”

To learn about the Confocal.nl RCM module and how it may be configured into a high-performance scanning confocal imaging system, please visit www.confocal.nl. This includes a detailed video describing the principle of RCM.

Confocal.nl is one of the ten winners of the Academic Startup Competition. This was announced by a professional jury in Amsterdam in the presence of State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Climate, Mona Keijzer.

As a result of the selection, Confocal.nl will be able to pitch at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) and will be offered a trip to Silicon Valley by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Change. The GES will give Confocal.nl the opportunity to learn how to scale up their innovation faster and take the step from startup to scale-up.

See the summary of the day:

 

Confocal.nl, a spinoff from the University of Amsterdam, develops microscope upgrade module based on the re-scan invention. The upgrade module of Confocal.nl turns any wide-field microscope into a confocal microscope with 40% improved resolution and increased sensitivity as compared to other confocal systems. 

Academic Startup Competition

The Academic Startup Competition is an initiative of VSNU, the Netherlands Academy of Technology and Innovation (AcTI) and StartupDelta. The competition put knowledge transfer and academic spin-offs in the international spotlight.

Mona Keijzer, State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Climate: “Academic startups are extremely important for the Netherlands because it’s often innovative breakthrough technologies that have an international impact. The 10 winners show that Dutch universities are at the global forefront when it comes to knowledge transfer.”

Pieter Duisenberg, chairman VSNU “This top ten list proves that Dutch Academic Startups are leading the way in creating the most groundbreaking innovations in science. They are living proof that Dutch universities are at the heart of our society. Now is the time to continue and keep up the pace by making the knowledge transfer process in the Netherlands even more professional”.

Visit the website: academicstartupcompetition.nl for more information about the competition, the jury and the 10 winning startups.

 

For more information about this press release, please contact us at

 

Confocal.nl congratulates Dr. Stefan G. Stanciu from Politehnica University of Bucharest (Romania) on acquiring funding for collaboration HARMOLUS (Higher-harmonic Generation Microscopy Beyond the Diffraction Barrier based on Re-scan Strategies for Optical Data Acquisition) from Horizon 2020 ATTRACT scheme.

HARMOPLUS aims to demonstrate Second and Third Harmonic Generation Imaging at sub-diffraction resolution using an approach inspired from the Re-scan Confocal Microscope (RCM). HARMOPLUS will build and test a prototype system for Re-scan SHG/THG.

Summary of the project:

A critical requirement for understanding and diagnosing severe pathologies, such as cancers,  neurodegenerative or cardiovascular diseases, consists in achieving an exact understanding of fundamental structures and processes in cells and tissues at optical resolutions beyond the diffraction barrier. Fluorescence based techniques for Super-Resolution Microscopy (SRM) have generated huge impact in many fields of science but exhibit nonetheless serious limitations. For example, they are not chemically sensitive and require fluorescent probes, which may generate artefacts. Furthermore, in living cells, fluorescent labelling can influence the metabolic behaviour and locomotion of the cells, and lead to cytotoxicity and phototoxicity. Higher-Harmonic Generation Microscopies (HHG) have gained massive attention due to their superb capabilities to image unlabelled samples based on very valuable and efficient contrast mechanisms. Second Harmonic Generation Microscopy (SHG) and Third Harmonic Generation Microscopy (THG) combined with (auto)fluorescence can enable a powerful 3D visualization of the extracellular matrix, of cell morphology or of subcellular components and organization, which are fundamental for a thorough understanding of cell–tissue interaction and function. However, reliable SHG and THG beyond the diffraction barrier is still a challenge for the optics, photonics and high-resolution imaging communities, and no commercial system for super-resolution HHG currently exists on the market. The main objective of HARMOPLUS is to demonstrate SHG and THG at sub-diffraction resolution using a novel approach inspired from the Re-scan Confocal Microscope (RCM).  HARMOPLUS will build and test a prototype system for Re-scan HHG (incorporating also regular RCM) which will provide 40% improved resolution, and 4x increased sensitivity compared to the current state-of-the-art commercial systems for HHG imaging. From the proof-of-concept prototype system and results to be achieved in the frame of HARMOPLUS at TRL2-3, Confocal.nl expects to launch the product on the international markets in 3 years.

In the Academic Startup Competition Confocal.nl is competing on May 14 2019 with 26 other nominees to identify the top 10 innovative companies of 2019!

The Academic Startup Competition is an initiative of VSNU, Dutch Academy of Technology and Innovation (AcTI) and StartupDelta – see below more on the jury and selection process below (in Dutch).

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Confocal.nl genomineerd voor lijst meest baanbrekende innovaties van de wetenschap

Confocal.nl is genomineerd voor de Academic Startup Competition 2019. Samen met 26 andere genomineerden strijdt zij voor een plek in de toptien van de meest baanbrekende Innovaties van de wetenschap in Nederland.

De Academic Startup Competition is een initiatief van VSNU, de Netherlands Academy of Technology and Innovation (AcTI) en StartupDelta. De verkiezing bestaat uit deze nominatie door de verschillende universiteiten in Nederland en een finale op 14 mei waarbij een jury uiteindelijk tien winnaars kiest die onderdeel worden van de lijst meest baanbrekende innovaties van de wetenschap in Nederland. Deze startups krijgen tijdens de Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) op 4 en 5 juni in Den Haag tevens de kans om hun startup te presenteren aan een wereldpubliek.

De Universiteit van Amsterdam heeft Confocal.nl genomineerd. Confocal.nl ontwierp een gebruiksvriendelijke doos waarmee confocale microscopen met bijna-infrarode golflengten kunnen worden afgebeeld.

Verkiezing

Met de verkiezing zetten de organisatoren valorisatie en academische spin-offs binnen de universiteiten internationaal in de spotlight. Jorrit Kuipers, bestuurslid AcTI: “Academische startups zijn voor Nederland ontzettend belangrijk vanwege hun vaak innovatieve doorbraken die op allerlei manieren wereldwijd impact hebben op de maatschappij. Maar kennis alleen is niet genoeg, je hebt ook ondernemerschap en de drive nodig om deze kennis te vermarkten. De geselecteerde startups zijn stuk voor stuk mooie voorbeelden van hoe wetenschap en ondernemerschap elkaar kunnen versterken en het bewijs dat Nederlandse universiteiten prachtige (deep-)techbedrijven voortbrengen.”

Competitie

De tien uiteindelijke winnaars die zich op 4 en 5 juni mogen presenteren tijdens de Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES), worden 14 mei in het Epicenter in Amsterdam vastgesteld door een vakjury, bestaande uit Betsy Lindsey, Director investor relations HighTechXL, Kees de Koning, RvC Innovationquarter, Dennis Schipper, managing director Demcon, Margot Weijnen, hoogleraar TU Delft, Emile Aarts, Jos Nelissen, founder Newtricious, Eline Vrijland, Founder Nightbalance, Alberto Prado, Philip Healthworks en Fiona Maclaughlin, Director Inkef Capital

De genomineerde bedrijven zijn: Sensius, Numeric Biotech, 20face, hy2Care, Kepler Vision Technologies, CardiacBooster, Bunyavax, MindAffect, Amphera, VSParticle, Concord Neonatal, LipoCoat, Level Diagnostics, Chromodynamics, CC Diagnostics, IVWear, Ocean Grazer, Confocal.nl, Elevate Health, Dialogue Trainer, Mosa Meat, i-Med Technology, Arthrosave, Taylor, Scitodate, Stentit en Findest.

Kijk op de website: academicstartupcompetition.nl voor meer informatie over de competitie, jury en de diverse startups

Voor meer informatie over dit persbericht neem contact op met:

Peter Drent,