• Debios Diagnostics aims to improve diagnostics for diseases of the urinary and reproductive systems through non-invasive testing, while HealthTech Innovations S.L. seeks to enhance operating room efficiency and safety by integrating advanced technology that supports nursing staff and optimises sterilisation processes.
• With these new spin-offs, the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP) further cements its position as a leading centre for innovation and technology transfer.

The Can Ruti Campus is a multidisciplinary space housing various leading biomedical institutions engaged in scientific research. Synergies between these centres have created a unique ecosystem for project development. As a CERCA Centre and centre of excellence accredited by Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), IGTP plays a central role in coordinating research management and scientific strategy across the Campus. Debios Diagnostics and HealthTech Innovations S.L. are the latest additions to IGTP's network of spin-offs.

The institute fosters the transition of innovative concepts into commercially and socially valuable products. Currently, IGTP has ten spin-offs, including its latest additions:

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Chronic kidney disease is highly prevalent, affecting approximately 15% of the global population. Despite the severity of these diseases, they are often underdiagnosed. For instance, in the United States, an estimated 30 million people suffer from undiagnosed chronic kidney diseases, highlighting the need for improved diagnostics and monitoring.

Standard processes generally rely on imaging tests and biopsies, techniques that can pose risks, with a 4% complication rate and 20% of patients refusing the diagnosis. Furthermore, many of these results are inconclusive.

A team of researchers, clinicians, and entrepreneurs has sought to change this reality through an approach that allows early diagnosis and improved patient management. By developing new non-invasive techniques and in vitro diagnostic devices, Debios Diagnostics supports medical professionals in detecting and monitoring genitourinary diseases, such as chronic kidney disease or kidney transplant failure. The company offers personalised monitoring that is more reliable than current standards of care.

Debios collaborates with international clinical leaders to research and identify new biomarkers that improve non-invasive diagnostics for genitourinary diseases. The company's first product, Fibrokit, is a non-invasive test to monitor renal fibrosis through urine samples. Currently, fibrosis can only be measured via renal biopsy, a costly and invasive procedure with significant limitations.

Francesc E. Borràs, CSO, co-founder, and scientific director of Debios Diagnostics, as well as leader of the group Innovation in Vesicles and Cells for Application in Therapy (IVECAT) at IGTP, stresses the importance of early renal fibrosis diagnosis, a process that "gradually deteriorates kidney function". Borràs explains that this issue is particularly critical for individuals with diseases such as obesity, hypertension, or diabetes, which are increasingly common. "It is therefore essential to detect and monitor renal fibrosis as early as possible, as this can significantly prolong the lifespan of our kidneys", he points out.

The primary challenge in monitoring this condition is the need for a renal biopsy, "a highly invasive technique that is unsuitable for some patients", which has so far been the only way to directly measure fibrosis. For this reason, the Fibrokit project aims to meet this need with less invasive detection methods, allowing fibrosis to be identified in its early stages. "This would provide physicians with the opportunity to implement preventive and therapeutic measures to preserve kidney function and improve patients' quality of life", Borràs concludes.

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A multidisciplinary team of surgeons from Germans Trias i Pujol University Hospital, robotics engineers, and experienced entrepreneurs have come together to create solutions that improve patient care, staff safety, and surgical efficiency. HealthTech Innovations S.L. aims to redefine the standard of efficiency and safety in operating rooms through the integration of advanced technology that supports nursing staff and enhances sterilisation.

HealthTech Innovations specialises in developing artificial intelligence and computer vision for medical devices, improving surgical precision, increasing procedural efficiency, and reducing stress for healthcare staff through enhanced communication and collaboration. These technologies contribute to improved surgical protocols and safety in medical environments.

The company also offers collaborative robotics solutions for the healthcare sector, designed to assist in operating rooms, storage, and other hospital settings. These tools facilitate staff tasks, enhance clinical process precision, and reduce workload and repetitive tasks, optimising the overall efficiency of the healthcare system.

Additionally, HealthTech Innovations creates experiences and technologies based on virtual and augmented reality to improve patient visits, offering solutions such as therapeutic distraction to calm patients during procedures, personalised environments tailored to each patient, and interactive training in clinical settings. The company also designs virtual environments for paediatric patients, reducing anxiety and involving families in the process.

Joan Francesc Julian, co-founder and scientific director of HealthTech Innovations and head of General and Digestive Surgery at Germans Trias Hospital, highlights the urgent need for innovation in nursing support: "Surgeons and anaesthetists already have access to a lot of developed technology, while nursing staff continue to work much as they did 100 years ago". He explains that, according to the World Health Organisation, there is a "significant shortage of nurses", underscoring his team's mission: "We aim to develop disruptive technology that supports and enhances conditions for nursing staff".

To address this challenge, HealthTech Innovations is applying advanced technologies such as computer vision and virtual reality with the goal of "improving processes, increasing safety, and enhancing the experience of both nursing staff and patients". Julian adds that their flagship project is "a multimodal assistance platform for nursing staff. So far, we've developed an instrument counter and a virtual reality content launcher, all proprietary technology. And there's much more to come..."

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Raül Zurita, head of the Innovation Unit at IGTP, notes that the creation of Debios Diagnostics and HealthTech Innovations S.L. "solidifies our commitment to innovation and technology transfer in the biomedical field. These spin-offs represent a significant step forward in the use of advanced technologies to address real clinical problems, with the aim of improving both patient quality of life and the efficiency of the healthcare system". Zurita also highlights the strategic importance of innovation at IGTP: "It is one of our essential pillars. Initiatives like these allow us to extend translational research beyond the lab, connecting science with society and creating products that transform clinical practice".

IGTP is a leading institution in the field of innovation. In 2023, it obtained R&D&i certification from AENOR and was designated an EATRIS Expert Centre. Additionally, it received funding for several projects aimed at bringing research to the market and to society. This year, with support from the ITEMAS platform and in partnership with other institutions on the Can Ruti Campus, IGTP launched the Innomed program, an initiative to boost innovation by sharing skills, knowledge, and resources, developing a project incubator, and creating synergies between the public and private sectors. The first Innomed Awards were held in June.