Startup seeks to commercialize small PET scanner
A Long Island startup company has entered into an agreement that may lead to the commercialization of a new small, portable brain-imaging device that was invented by scientists at the US Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory.
Entrepreneurs Marc Alessi and Burke Liburt formed their startup SynchroPET (Shoreham, NY, USA) around the new technology, optioning the inventions for six months. The option agreement provides time for the company to investigate the market potential for the portable scanner and complete a business plan.
The miniaturization of the positron emission tomography (PET) scanner opens up a range of new applications, including integration with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems and the development of compact scanners that can be “worn” by fully conscious, active rats. Prior to the development of the wearable scanner, PET scans required animals to be immobilized or unconscious.
Alessi and Liburt are currently seeking their first round of funding and communicating with potential clients. Since SynchroPET optioned the technology, it has worked with Brookhaven National Laboratory to develop four working prototypes, with applications for both medical research and clinical diagnosis.
They now plan to move the prototypes into early validation, a process of testing the inventions and generating feedback from future customers.
-- By Dave Wilson, Senior Editor, Vision Systems Design