1 in 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lives, and this diagnosis often involves undergoing a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. The RCN-funded research project PROVIZ is developing AI-based software to more accurately identify prostate cancer in MR images, which they hope will reduce the time and cost of diagnosis, and increase treatment quality. Tech leads Gabriel Nketiah (Researcher) and Mohammed Sunoqrot (Postdoc), alongside Tone Bathen and Mattijs Elschot are now working to commercialise the software based on this research and hope to create a new company to take their product to the market.
NTNU Discovery million will go towards technology improvement
PROVIZ was also awarded 1 million NOK from the NTNU Discovery scheme. This competitive award supports the best innovation projects at NTNU to overcome technical challenges on their path to commercialisation. Read more about NTNU Discovery
Innovation Roadmap funding will support commercialization
Innovation Roadmap, formally titled “A roadmap for academic research-intensive innovation” is a research project which aims to study what is the most effective way to innovate in digital biotechnology in Norway. Pilots like PROVIZ are documented and will be continuously evaluated so that recommendations for better innovation can be developed. Innovation Roadmap is funded through an RCN grant to Digital Life Norway.
Plans ahead
The team have made an excellent start down the long road to commercialisation for a medical technology. They are recruiting patients for a clinical trial that will demonstrate the utility of the technology in a real-world setting. They aim to spin out as a company in a year or so, if everything works out.
Excellent partners
The effort works closely with NTNU Technology Transfer, the Radiology and Urology departments of St. Olavs Hospital, and has excellent international scientific collaboration. This year, they were also selected to be part of the Nordic Innovation House REACH incubator program, during which they visited Silicon Valley to be inspired by US investors and entrepreneurs.