Challenge
Have you ever thought about the fact how cars have changed in the past 40 years? how TVs have changed from black and white TVs to the current giant 4K TVs? how phones have changed? Well, flexible endoscopes and
interventional endoscopy and colonoscopy undergone very little changes in the past 40 years compared to these. Endoscopy and colonoscopy remain a gold standard diagnostic test to detect and diagnose several cancer types and to remove polyps and adenomas. The incidence of colorectal cancer is increasing worldwide, endoscopies and colonoscopies are gold standard diagnostic tests.
Opportunity
Colonoscopy saves lives. In a number of countries worldwide, it is recommended to have a colonoscopy at least once in every 10 years. Screening colonoscopy checks were associated with a 65% – 75% (depending on the study) reduction in risk of death from colorectal cancers. Despite all of these benefits, the number of procedures does not match the demand.
- Many abnormalities are missed with traditional scopes, with a large,
up to 30% miss rate to
diagnose cancer (depending on type of lesion and experience of the
medical professional) - Shortage of endoscopic doctors
- 2-year learning curve for young gastroenterologists
- The industry is in need of a less time-consuming solution that can
better support doctors to detect pathologies, perform endoscopies
faster with as much automation as possible
Solution
Intuescope is a spinoff of Medical University of Vienna and Allgemeines Krankenhaus Wien and developing a set of tools that makes endoscopy and colonoscopy faster and safer. The solutions Intuescope developing can be also applied in the aerospace and in other civil engineering fields.
Status
Intuescope is based in Vienna, employs 10 people, and financed by Forschungsförderung Österreich (FFG) and by angel investors. The company is currently developing its first product that makes endoscopy and colonoscopy faster and safer. Intuescope has renowned medical advisors from 5 countries on two continents and co-operates with several universities and teaching hospitals in Austria and in Hungary.
Meet the team
Ronald Kefurt
Chairman and Medical Director
Gina Melchner
Venture Partner at NLC
Gina joined NLC in February 2020. Previously, Gina worked in Venture Capital at Biogeneration Ventures and in Strategy Consulting at Oliver Wyman. Her academic background includes a Masters degree in Biotechnology from ETH Zurich. At NLC, Gina is the responsible Venture Partner for multiple Medtech and Biotech ventures and also leads the Medtech Domain within NLC’s Venture Creation engine.