Technology to use any standard microscope for correlative imaging

Project Information

CLS

Grant agreement ID: 867667

DOI

10.3030/867667

Project closed

EC signature date 17 April 2019

Start date 1 March 2019

End date 31 August 2019

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs

Total cost

€ 71 429,00

EU contribution

€ 50 000,00

Coordinated by

DYKAS MICHAL
Poland

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - CLS (Technology to use any standard microscope for correlative imaging)

Reporting period: 2019-03-01 to 2019-08-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Increasing demand for high-quality research forces a research community to find new ways of data acquisition. An important part of the scientific results is data acquired from imaging devices. Imaging using various types of microscopy and spectroscopy are the essential techniques used in many types of research in both academia and industry. Imaging of a single sample can be performed using a number of imaging techniques subsequently and the collected data can be correlated.
We have developed and now provide a revolutionary product which allows researchers to use any microscope and any imaging technique for correlative imaging to help to understand and solve the life-science problems where microscopy is required. Our breakthrough solution fully integrates with the standard experimental and imaging workflows. Hence it doesn’t require any additional verification or validations prior to imaging. Correscopy enables to get scientific insights which could never get before.
Correscopy is a game-changer for the laboratories which want to use correlative imaging and could never afford it, and for those laboratories which wanted to use the techniques that were never available in the correlative microscopes.
The global microscopy and spectroscopy market is worth more than 27 billion Euro and grows at CAGR of 5,6%. Moreover, the global market for microscope accessories is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.5% from 2015 to 2020.
The overall objective of the project was to evaluate the applications of the company solutions to the life science sector, for its market potential and to produce a roadmap for its further development.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

During this project, the market requirements were studied in more detail and the most promising markets identified. We have investigated the regulatory requirements of the markets of the interest. We established new contact was with the key market players and new distribution partnerships were established. We have initially agreed on the global distribution with one of the partners. Pricing strategies and characteristics of competing products were studied and compared to our offering.
We have investigated the life-science requirements in terms of the toxicity of our products and also performed further product validations with potential customers. We have identified and confirmed a partner for the further development of the life-science components of our system, along with the application for the grant to prepare advanced prototypes.
We have performed a marketing analysis and defined a clear marketing strategy. We have started to prepare new marketing materials along with the promotional videos.
To decrease the manufacturing risk we investigated options for the production facility, location, and the machines. We got in touch with the number of manufacturers and distributors.
A SWOT analysis was carried out and contingencies established where possible. Additionally, freedom to operate search was carried out and the regulatory landscape studied to identify further potential hurdles. Based on the findings, a clear plan was established to move forward, including the conceptual design of a pilot plant, the search for potential pilot plant sites.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

A number of technologies for the correlative imaging are being developed, some of which are under pilots with the imaging facilities. These technologies are almost exclusively limited to development of new correlative microscopes. A few companies started the collaborations on the development of the solutions which allow using their microscopes for correlative imaging. The progress on this market is relatively small as the microscopy companies are usually large corporates which take long time for the new developments. Our technology can make use of any available microscope for correlative imaging. That is an easy and low-cost solution for any imaging facility or laboratory.
We offer easy access to correlative imaging. The imaging in a correlative manner allows collecting much more meaningful data from research compared to the classic imaging approach. The correlated data is easy to interpret and the conclusions drawn from the experiments are more accurate and experiments are possible to repeat by the others. The correct conclusions will be directly translated to the better outcomes of the research activities and later products (like drugs) developments.
Through our technology, we can improve the quality of the research of all the sectors wherever the imaging techniques are used, especially in the life sciences.

Overview of the Correscopy CLS solution