On Monday, November 20, Leiden-based health tech startup RespiQ announced receiving a €4M grant from the European Innovation Council (EIC).
This grant is part of the EIC Pathfinder Challenge, “Towards the healthcare continuum,” aimed at fostering technologies that enable a shift from episodic to continuous care for patients throughout Europe.
RespiQ, along with a prestigious international consortium that includes King’s Centre for Lung Health, School of Immunology and Microbial Sciences at King’s College London, National eHealth Living Lab at Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC), Norwegian research organization Sintef, and Portuguese technical consulting firm uRoboptics, will receive the €4M grant over three and a half years.
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The funds will be used to expedite the development and miniaturization of RespiQ’s breath diagnostics technology, improving non-invasive remote monitoring for patients.
Mira Gleisberg, CEO of RespiQ, comments, “The EIC Pathfinder grant is a crucial milestone for us and our partners. It propels the advancement of our innovative breath diagnostics tool, offering new possibilities for thousands of COPD patients to better manage their condition.”
RespiQ: Offering Affordable Home Health Testing Solutions
Founded in 2019 by Mira Gleisberg and Vitalii Vorkov during an Antler-run founder residency in Amsterdam, RespiQ has been on a path of innovation and growth.
In the residency, Gleisberg and Vorkov honed the strategic direction for their breath diagnostics technology, laying the groundwork for RespiQ’s development. Now under the leadership of Mira Gleisberg and Jantine Mens, the company is advancing a device for analyzing disease biomarkers in breath.
RespiQ’s mission is to enhance patient health through accessible, non-invasive technology for early detection of health conditions, beginning with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) – the world’s third leading cause of death, affecting nearly 400 million people.
The device, integrating AI and plasma technology, enables real-time, non-invasive health monitoring at home. Its unique algorithm interprets breath data to provide early warnings of health issues, potentially even before symptoms appear.
Professor Mona Bafadhel of King’s College London highlights the potential transformative impact of this technology, envisioning a future where COPD patients can monitor their condition at home, reducing hospital visits.
The team at Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC) is excited to integrate this technology into existing COPD care, aiming to improve patient outcomes through this collaborative effort.
Elizaveta Vereshchagina from SINTEF Digital reflects on the project’s significance: “This EIC Pathfinder project is a thrilling milestone for SINTEF MiNaLab. Our involvement in this exceptional consortium, united by a passion for medical technology’s societal impact, is a privilege and a testament to our shared vision.”
