Optec4life

In January 2024, nanoGUNE launched its seventh spin-off company: Optec4Life. The company is developing a medical device to provide hospitals with a non-invasive, continuous, real-time diagnosis of perinatal asphyxia, thus preventing unnecessary cesarean sections and improving perinatal outcomes. 

This disruptive technology was initiated in the framework of a collaboration with the Basque Health Research Institute Biogipuzkoa, in order to address what at the time was a market gap. The technology was patented and the company has now been launched to develop the device for commercialization. 

This device will not only allow a non-invasive monitoring of perinatal lack of oxygen but also other vital signs during childbirth. The medical device to be developed by Optec4Life is underpinned by a new in-house technology based on Raman spectroscopy, which involves combining a specific Raman probe with machine-learning algorithms that take into account the overall clinical picture of any physiological variations or abnormalities. 

The technology has received several awards: winner of the 2020 “Pitch me up” program of the European Technology Platform Nanomedicine (ETPN) and the HealthTechTAB initiative of the same platform; finalist of the Manuel Laborde Award and winner of the BBK Venture Philanthropy Award, both organized by the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), each in their 2020 editions. Under the name “Intrapartum monitoring”, the project was selected to participate in a qualitative assessment study and has recently been awarded a Txekintek-Ekintzaile grant, both with the support of BIC Gipuzkoa.