HYBRIMS, a spin-off of the Universitat de València and CSIC, develops devices for accurate diagnosis and improved prognosis of cancer patients

A new spin-off of the Universitat de València (UV) and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) will bring to market a biomedical imaging device for real-time guidance of cancer biopsies. The technology used, industrially owned jointly by both public institutions, provides combined metabolic and morphological data that allow a much more accurate characterisation of tumours. The system also facilitates personalised diagnosis and treatment for cancer patients.

The patent licensed by UV and CSIC to the company HYBRID IMAGING SYSTEMS S.L. (HYBRIMS) refers to a novel medical device that makes it possible to select, for the first time in real time, the most active and aggressive parts of tumours during cancer biopsies.

The technology on which this equipment is based addresses cancer diagnosis by combining, in a single device and live, clinical images that until now have only been available separately and sequentially. The new system effectively combines gamma and ultrasound imaging, providing metabolic and morphological information of the tumour or sentinel lymph node in a hybrid image, visualising its most active or aggressive areas and enabling real-time cancer biopsy guidance. This gives medical teams a deeper understanding of the tumour and reduces overall treatment costs.

"Through this advance in biomedical imaging, we are taking a step forward towards precision medicine, as the system allows for precise and personalised oncological treatment", comments Luis Caballero, a scientific researcher at the Institute of Corpuscular Physics (IFIC, a joint UV-CSIC centre) and main promoter of the company. "In addition to improving the diagnosis and prognosis of cancer patients, this new technology will reduce the number of false positives and negatives, which will help to reduce the stress and anxiety of those affected", adds the researcher. The new device will be mobile, compact, lightweight and, therefore, highly operational.

Established as a limited liability company (S.L.), HYBRID IMAGING SYSTEMS S.L. has been recognised this Tuesday 7 May as a spin-off of the University of Valencia and CSIC. Both institutions participate, together with the promoters, in the share capital of the new spin-off.

Collaborative research in joint spin-offs

The Universitat de València currently has 23 active spin-offs, mainly in the fields of Life Sciences, Engineering and Technology. Since 2005, the number of companies recognised by the institution has continued to grow and expand its fields of action, in line with its status as a generalist university.

Thus, companies derived from research in Social Sciences and Humanities, or companies in the fields of Chemical Industry, Optical Instrumentation or Physical Instrumentation, for applications in sectors such as biotechnology, biomedicine or electronics, among others, are now added to the catalogue of spin-offs of the University of Valencia; a catalogue that, since the beginning of 2024, reveals an increasingly collaborative research model, with the consequent generation of joint institutional patents.

HYBRIMS is the second joint spin-off that the UV recognises this year and the first in collaboration with the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC).