.:: Visiopharm :: Turning images into knowledge ::.

2007 News archive

Press Release:

Announcement:

Visiopharm announces exclusive license agreement with the Stereology and Electron Microscopy Research Laboratory at Aarhus University.

Hørsholm, Denmark

Visiopharm today announced the closing of an exclusive license agreement with the Stereology and Electron Microscopy Research Laboratory at Aarhus University, Denmark. Under the terms of the agreement, Visiopharm will proceed the further development for automated quantitative microscopy of the "Proportionator", a novel stereological sampling strategy developed and patent protected by Dr. Jonathan Gardi, PhD together with Professors Hans Jørgen Gundersen and Jens Nyengaard.

The Proportionator is a strictly unbiased method, but in contrast to the established systematic uniform random sampling (SURS) procedures, it is based on a non-uniform sampling. The Proportionator selects a sampling distribution, which is based on a preceding step of image analysis of the entire tissue section.

"The resulting increase in precision and reduction in work load is impressive: The researchers have demonstrated efficiency increases as high as 30 times above the traditional sampling paradigm when measured in terms of CE and time consumption", explains Visiopharm’s CSO, Niels Foged. "We and the inventors believe this method will revolutionize modern stereology, and we are excited about implementing it on our histoinformatics platform. In combination with our automated physical disector and our ability to interface with commercially available virtual microscopes, the Proportionator will propel unbiased methods into the realm of high-throughput analysis. We aim at introducing the Proportionator already in 2008!"

Updated: 2007.11.15

Press Release:

October 2007

The Danish National Advanced Technology Foundation has donated DKK 10 Million to a project coordinated by Visiopharm for early diagnosis of testicular cancer based on automated image analysis.

By combining advanced molecular technologies for detection of early tumor biomarkers in semen samples with computer-controlled image acquisition and automated quantitative microscopy, a group of Danish scientists is developing a method for pre-symptomatic diagnosis of testicular cancer.

The collaborative project will be coordinated by Visiopharm and starts October 2007. However, it is based on more than 20 years of world leading basic and clinical research in testicular cancer at the University Department of Growth and Reproduction at Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen. Recently, Prof. Skakkebaek and his colleagues identified the specific presence of a biomarker in semen of patients with the early stage of testicular cancer, carcinoma in situ (CIS). Previously, the diagnosis of CIS has depended on a testicular biopsy, whereas the new method will allow a much wider screening in particular patient risk groups including men with infertility problems.

"We are very grateful for the economical support of DKK 10M (almost USD 2M) from the Danish National Advanced Technology Foundation. With our experience in advanced image analysis and hardware control, we will be able to automate the highly labor intensive and manual procedure of screening large slides for rare events. Quantitative image analysis also allows for replacing qualitative or semi-quantitative methods with sensitive and reproducible diagnostic criteria" says Visiopharm’s CSO, Niels T. Foged. "Within 2 years we expect to offer the first analyses of risk groups by the automated method. Depending on the clinical outcome of our studies, we hope to offer the test to a wider population. Testicular cancer is the most widespread cancer in men between 16 and 40 years of age, but fortunately the chances of successful treatment are very good as long as it is started early after outbreak".

For further information, please contact:

Niels T. Foged, CSO
Phone +45 88202081
E-mail ntf@visiopharm.com

Updated: 2007.10.15

Press Release:

NorthCap Partners Invests in Danish Software Company Visiopharm

Copenhagen, Denmark.

NorthCap Partners invests in quantitative microscopy company, Visiopharm. Visiopharm is a leading developer and vendor of advanced quantitative microscopy software for the pharmaceutical industry and life-science research.

Two out of three of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world are using Visiopharm’s technology in their pre-clinical drug development, thus reducing time and cost, reducing risks, and improving time to market. Visiopharm is collaborating with world-leading Universities as well as pharmaceutical- and biotech companies.

Visiopharm was founded in 2001 by Michael Grunkin and Johan Doré. Since then, Michael and Johan have successfully developed an international and profitable company. In 2006, Niels T. Foged, joined Visiopharm as partner and Chief Scientist.

"We always invest in outstanding teams with strong products. Visiopharm is an excellent example of such a company, and with a clear value proposition of improving drug development in the pharmaceutical industry by applying groundbreaking technology," says Thomas Weilby Knudsen, Managing Partner at NorthCap Partners.

"By inviting NorthCap Partners to become a shareholder, we have secured the financial foundation to accelerate international growth, while adding resources with experience in internationalizing software organizations," explains Michael Grunkin, CEO at Visiopharm.

Visiopharm is specializing in quantitative microscopy software for the life-sciences, including hardware integration, automation, and quality inspection. Visiopharm is providing a range of services and software solutions that enables and facilitates accelerated and highly efficient extraction of knowledge from images.

NorthCap Partners is a leading venture capital manager headquartered in Copenhagen, and part of the BankInvest group, which is the largest venture investor in Scandinavia.

For additional information please contact:
Thomas Weilby Knudsen, Managing Partner, NorthCap Partners, mobile: 2461 4575
Michael Grunkin, CEO, Visiopharm, mobile: 4061 5274

Updated: 2007.10.05

Introducing Respiratopix

The Visiopharm Respiratopix© workstation is designed for Quantitative Microscopy in respiratory research. The technology is facilitating every step in the work-flow from tissue sections to scientifically valid quantitative end-points reflecting important tissue properties.

Download brochure

For more information, email: respiratopix@visiopharm.com

Updated: 2007.09.17

New facilities

We are happy to announce our move to new facilities within the Scion Science Park in Hørsholm, North of Copenhagen, that are better suited to accommodate our expanding activities.

Please note our new address and fax number below. Our phone numbers remain unchanged. We apologize for any inconvenience our relocation may have caused.

Updated: 2007.05.21

Visiotopix

Visit our new division for industrial vision applications, including in-line quality inspection, materials science, particle counting, surface inspection, density measuring...... at www.visiotopix.com

Updated: 2007.05.21

Stereology Course in Sao Paulo, Brazil

Quantitative Microscopy

Stereology provides biomedical researchers with efficient and unbiased tools to obtain real 3D data like volume, surface, length, and number of organs, tissues, cells, and organelles from measurements done on microscopic sections.

If this is important for your research, this course is for you!

Read more

Updated: 2007.03.14

Stereology Course in Sao Paulo, Brazil

The 2nd Brazilian Stereology Course is an introduction to state-of-the-art stereology with emphasis on its practical application in biomedicine. It will be held July 30th-August 2nd 2007 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Event location to be announced. The course will provide a practical and theoretical introduction to recent advances in stereology with special emphasis on placental, neurological and pulmonary research. The course is arranged by Prof. Antonio Augusto Coppi Maciel Ribeiro and the faculty of teachers will be Prof. Jens R. Nyengaard, University of Aarhus, Denmark, Prof. Terry M Mayhew, University of Nottingham, UK, Prof. Matthias Ochs, University of Bern, CH and Prof. Antonio Augusto Coppi Maciel Ribeiro, University of Sao Paulo.

2nd Brazilian Stereology Course Programme (PDF)

Updated: 2007.01.25