An innovative spin-out company developing medical diagnostics for inflammatory diseases has reached the finals of this year’s Converge Challenge competition. The IDxSense team, which includes Dr Jamie Scott and Professor Marc Vendrell from the IRR, is one of the 28 finalists in this year’s main Converge Challenge contest to champion academic innovation in Scotland. IDxSense designs, develops and produces high quality in-vitro devices to help medical professionals detect, diagnose and treat people living with inflammatory conditions, such as transplant rejection and IBD. The team was a finalist in the main Converge Challenge category having progressed from an initial pool of around 24 contestants in their category.Dr Jamie Scott represented the IDxSense team during the challenge, which included a pitch at the Scottish National Galleries in Edinburgh to secure a place in the final in London. It has been an excellent learning experience going through the Converge challenge and being able to apply this training directly to our company has been fantastic Dr Jamie Scott We are delighted to reach the finals in this prestigious competition. IDxSense is a collaborative, team effort to design new technologies that can help healthcare professionals make better decisions when diagnosing and treating inflammatory diseases. Professor Marc Vendrell IDxSense develops in vitro diagnostic devices, with a focus on creating fluorescent chemical probes that target key biomarkers related to inflammation. These probes are rapid, sensitive and efficient, offering a new approach to diagnosing conditions by detecting the activity of enzymes upregulated during disease.The company, which is committed to harnessing this potential to significantly enhance health outcomes, includes experts from a range of backgrounds including chemistry, biology, medicine and diagnostics. The company targets markets with significant unmet medical needs.A quarter of the 28 finalists in this year’s Converge Challenge competition are from the University of Edinburgh.Finalists will now compete for a share of the £270,000+ prize fund with individual cash awards of up to £50,000 plus in-kind business support from Converge’s network of professional partners which includes some of the country’s leading lawyers, investors and business experts. Winners and runners-up will be named at the Converge Awards on Thursday 3rd October in Edinburgh. IDxSense website Innovation Nation: Converge 24 finalists revealed DYNAFLUORS Vendrell Lab website This article was published on 2024-09-25
