The Project

• The idea

  iLoF’s (intelligent Lab on Fiber) technology detects biomarkers of various neurodegenerative diseases, creating accurate optical ‘fingerprints’ representative of a patient’s phenotype and stage of disease. By improving efficiency to the screening and the stratifying of Alzheimer’s patients for clinical trials, iLoF contributes to finding a cure for the disease.

• Inspiration

  Former colleagues established that tiny biostructures found in the bloodstream of patients, called extracellular vesicles, are key predictors of how a disease can develop. I decided to combine photonics with Artificial Intelligence to find patterns in the light reflected by these vesicles, allowing us to map the information they carry.

• Unique selling points

  iLoF tackles a burning problem that hinders efforts in Alzheimer's treatment development. The non-invasive, portable, cheap technology will transform Alzheimer patient’s experience and make clinical trials convenient and patient-centric.

• Societal impact

  Forty-four million people live with Alzheimer’s disease, a number that is expected to triple by 2050. Over 400 clinical trials failed in past years, mostly due to patient drop out and unsuitability. iLoF hopes to successfully address this situation.

• EIT Community support

  The EIT Health Wild Card programme was paramount in defining a clear application field for our technology. Events such as “Biobanks and Registers” or “Digital Sandbox” were extremely helpful in enlarging our dataset of disease fingerprints. EIT Health also supported the recruitment process of highly qualified engineers and connection with all types of stakeholders.

• Overcoming adversity

  As a female PhD student, the challenge of translating innovative ideas in the academic environment was made even greater by the male-dominated environment of physics, engineering and computer science. A serial patented inventor with a passion for innovation, I focused on impact and ensuring that my technology would not end up on a shelf after the findings were published.