We are proud to welcome our new member Dr. Juan Aguirre Bueno. Recently, he has obtained the most prestigious research fellowship from Comunidad de Madrid (Atraccion Talento 2020) which has allowed him to return to Spain and to start his tenure track at the Autonomous University of Madrid. In MEDIC, he will lead a new research branch centered in Medical Sensors and their applications.

Bioscketch
Dr. Juan Aguirre Bueno studied physics and applied mathematics in Spain. After completing his PhD in biomedical imaging in Madrid, he worked as a researcher in labs in Barcelona, Crete (Greece), and the University of Pennsylvania, USA. In 2013, he received a Marie Curie grant to join the Institute of Biological and Medical Imaging (IBMI) at the Helmholtz Zentrum München and the Chair of Biological Imaging at the Technical University of Munich. He has been the group leader of the optoacoustic mesoscopy in IBMI from 2014 until 2021.

Research Focus
Dr. Aguirre research is focused on the conception, design and development of medical imaging and sensing technology meant to outperform established methods in terms of resolution, contrast, speed or quantification accuracy among other factors. These tools are in most cases intended to quantify biologically and medically relevant features that were not possible to be monitored before, in order to make real improvements in the clinical routine of major diseases, like cancer, cardiovascular, metabolic or dermatological diseases.

Handheld autorefractor to be used in Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH) research 

Cambridge, Massachusetts, November 29 – PlenOptika, Inc., creator of QuickSee™, the world’s most accurate handheld autorefractor, announced today it is participating in research to understand the impact of spaceflight on vision as part of the Translational Research Institute for Space Health’s (TRISH) research complement. QuickSee will be used to measure refractive error of a private visitor to the International Space Station (ISS) prior to departure next week and upon return 12 days later. 

“We are excited to join this research to understand the impact of spaceflight on vision,” said Shivang Dave, PhD, CEO and Co-founder of PlenOptika. “It’s humbling and profoundly motivating to be part of the more than 60-year tradition of space medicine driving technology innovation that benefits the billions of people living on Earth.”

QuickSee will be used to measure the pre- and post-flight visual acuity of Yozo Hirano, a Japanese citizen who will travel with Yusaku Maezawa to the ISS on a 12-day mission by arrangement with Space Adventures, Inc. They will travel on the Soyuz MS-20 commanded by Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Dec. 8, 2021. Their experience in space will be shared on Maezawa’s YouTube channel. 

The vision testing is part of TRISH’s EXPAND (Enhancing eXploration Platforms and ANalog Definition) program, which collects pre-flight, in-flight, and post-flight health data to increase human health and performance research on commercial spaceflights. TRISH is a virtual institute empowered by NASA’s Human Research Program to find and fund innovative solutions the challenges of human deep space exploration. Meeting TRISH’s rigorous requirements for accuracy and usability in demanding conditions, QuickSee is the only autorefractor selected for the mission. Mr Hirano’s participation in testing is expected to help understand the health impacts of spaceflight for the benefit of future explorers. 

“PlenOptika’s QuickSee will provide valuable information about the effects of spaceflight on vision and will inform on the most important risks to human health in low earth orbit,” said Dorit Donoviel, PhD, TRISH executive director. “We are excited to have PlenOptika join TRISH’s EXPAND program and we are eager to see the results from this mission.”

Read the complete post at PlenOptika´s website here

Launched in 2017, Wild Card is backed by EIT Health – one of the largest healthcare networks in the world, counting 150 world-leading organisations as partners and supported by the European Union. Every year, Wild Card builds two new ventures that break new ground, push boundaries and troubleshoot some of European healthcare’s greatest challenges. We attract the brightest talent, mentor founders-to-be and invest up to €1.5 million in the two most promising ventures.

See more at https://wildcard.eithealth.eu/eye-vision-care/

Growth-Stage and Series A-ready PlenOptika has managed, with funding that’s largely undilutive, to launch and commercially scale a new portable autorefractor called QuickSee in 30 countries, addressing a global need for vision testing. While the company’s top goal was to improve access for people in low resource settings, its product is as accurate as more expensive autorefractors, making it attractive for both low and high income settings.

Source

Today, PlenOptika was named a finalist in the 2022 Prism Awards presented by SPIE. The awards, presented by the SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, honor the best new optics and photonics products on the market. 

“The 2022 Prism Award finalists represent the most impactful innovations of the optics and photonics industry,” said SPIE CEO Kent Rochford in a press release today. “Whether they are working on healthcare-related technologies, quantum-focused advances, or making self-driving vehicles safer for our roads, these are the scientists, engineers, and companies that are striving to make our lives better by bringing these exciting commercial products to market. We look forward to recognizing and congratulating all the nominees as well as announcing the winners in person at Photonics West.”

“We’re excited to be selected as finalist,” said PlenOptika CEO and cofounder Shivang Dave, PhD, “especially considering the technical expertise of the SPIE community and the exceptional award alumni.” 

Prism Award winners will be named in a ceremony in January 2022 at SPIE Photonics West. 

Cambridge, Massachusetts, November 4 – PlenOptika, Inc., creator of QuickSee™, the world’s most accurate handheld autorefractor, was recognized with an Eddie Award from Mass Innovation Network. Previous winners of this prestigious award include Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, Staples, Genzyme, MassChallenge, Carbonite, KRONOS, ZipCar, iRobot, Keurig, and Vistaprint.

“PlenOptika is grateful for the recognition of our technology and its value to people in the U.S. and around the globe,” said Shivang Dave, PhD, CEO and Co-founder of PlenOptika, following the announcement at a special event in Lincoln, Massachusetts. “We are humbled to be among an elite cohort of companies that have had such profound impact on the world, and the other startups in this edition who also have bold plans for the future.”

Previously known as the New England Innovation Awards, they were rebranded as the Eddie Awards in a nod to Thomas Edison and his prolific work (and 1,093 innovation patents!) in a variety of industries. Any business headquartered in New England that has a revolutionary product, technology, or process may be nominated for the Eddie Award.

Earlier this year, PlenOptika was one of five “most promising” deep tech startup companies recognized by the Mass Ventures START program, which helps deep tech startups convert their Small Business Innovation and Small Business Technology Transfer research (SBIR/STTR) into businesses.

QuickSee is an essential tool to address the challenge of uncorrected refractive error, a matter of major global concern, including wealthy nations. Poor vision tremendously impacts quality of life, education, and workforce opportunities. A report published by The Lancet in February 2021 estimated that over 1 billion people worldwide had distance-or near-vision impairment, resulting in at least $410 billion in productivity loss annually.

Read the news at PlenOptika Web site here

During the last 25th of Febraury, the event “Learn about the best TFG of the 2019-20 academic year and how Deloitte participates in innovative and entrepreneurial projects” took place in the Autonomous University of Madrid. This time online, as a result of the current situation. Among other attendees, representing the UAM was Mr. Javier Ortega García, Vice-rector of Innovation, Transfer and Technology, who made the introduction to the event, and from Deloitte, Mr. Francisco Faraco, Partner at Deloitte – Fraud Prevention, who gave the award to the winner of the best bachelor thesis at the E.P.S. during the 2019-20 academic year, enrolled in Cybersecurity, Data Science and Artificial Intelligence categories. As it was said in the event ‘At Deloitte we reward talent and innovation with initiatives of this type’.

In this occasion the awarded was our engineer Ignacio Salinas Sánchez for his work “Development of a Calibration system for a Visual Simulation device”. The medical device was the SimVis developed by 2eyesVision: a system that prescribes multifocal lenses allowing patients to know if they adapt correctly to their needs before to surgical implantation.

The project consists not only of a software part that includes three main modules: camera, communication and image processing but also a hardware prototype with the function of carrying out verification and validation tests.

“It has been a unique opportunity and a pleasure to collaborate in the development of medical devices with the objective of helping other people, which gives you an added bonus of desire, energy and enthusiasm”, were some of Ignacio’s words.

The Jury also awarded some Special Mentions with their corresponding Diploma of Recognition to Alberto Ruiz Guijosa, Marta Simón Pinacho and Diego Sainz de Medrano Otero, for the quality of their works submitted to the contest.

In addition, during the session other topics were discussed such as Smart Stadiums, Gaming projects, “a life experience” by Álvaro Pérez (Senior Analytical Consultant at Google) and finally a success story from the entrepreneurship office of the UAM – UAM Emprende.

Thank both, Deloitte and UAM for giving us the opportunity to participate in this kind of innitiatives, where all the work, effort and time invested in these projects is recognized.