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27. June 2016
Scientists and doctoral degree students Jan Neuman, Zdeněk Nováček and Michal Pavera from CEITEC BUT have set up the first spin-off company. Called NenoVision, it will offer an accessory for electron microscopes which, by using the principle of atomic-force microscopy, expands the possibilities of an electron microscope by 3D imaging with a depth analysis of the relief of a measured sample. The spin-off company NenoVision has signed a licence contract with BUT for the use of the developed know-how and is thus prepared to negotiate with world players in the field of electron microscopy. This way CEITEC BUT has confirmed not only its strong position in basic research but also its ability to commercialize the outputs of research and development.
It all began with a research project and enthusiasm. Doctoral degree students of prof. Tomáš Šikola from the research group Fabrication and Characterization of Nanostructures needed to image their nanosamples in a 3D perspective in a relatively large area of about one square centimetre. However an electron microscope itself is not sufficient enough for such a task and atomic-force microscopy is used, which enables 3D imaging very well. The available equipment was not suitable for them for many reasons or was unaffordably priced. So they tried to develop their own new device, which would overcome the imperfections of currently available devices and also be more affordably priced. The new method also enables correlative imaging which used to be practically impossible in this field of microscopy. Correlative imaging enables to link and analyse pictures taken by two different methods and currently it´s one of the trends in the field of modern imaging techniques.
The seemingly very simple solution of a complex technical problem is the result of several-years´ work of scientists and students from CEITEC BUT, who are engaged in the field of nanotechnology. Subsequently the founders of NenoVision have brought the product to the market.
„In principal it is a box in the size of approximately 15x9x5 centimetres, which is attached to the manipulator of an electron microscope by two screws and sends data about the surface of a sample to a computer in such a way that enables the surface to be seen in a 3D perspective. It is a must for a number of applications, “ Jan Neuman, one of the founders of the spin-off company NenoVision, describes his first product in a very simple way. “The trend in microscopy is the maximum use of acquired information within one measurement. And it is exactly in this direction that we are aiming to follow,” adds Neuman.
„Brno is the centre of electron microscopy and Brno University of Technology and subsequently CEITEC BUT have historically been a very strong player of an international scale in nanotechnologies. So it is not surprising that it is the field of surface imaging and analysis that our scientists managed to establish the first spin-off in,” says Markus Dettenhofer, the Director of CEITEC. “I believe that the sale of the licence will be beneficial for both parties and the outputs of research and development will find its place in the industrial sector,” adds Dettenhofer.
„The equipment, which NenoVision managed to bring to the market, will enable a significantly better use of the possibilities of electron microscopes. The reason is it provides a three-dimensional imaging of analysed nanosamples. The new method used also enables correlative imaging which used to be practically impossible in this field of microscopy and which is able to effectively link and analyse pictures acquired by two different methods. This way we get a multiple amount of information with one measurement in a microscope. It is possible to say that we will enable significantly better studies and development of micro and nano devices. Nowadays they can be found in nearly all electronics, telephones and computers,” Radimír Vrba, Director of the organizational unit CEITEC BUT, explains the practical impact of the device.
The newly established CEITEC BUT company NenoVision resides in the business incubator INMEC run by the South Moravian Innovation Centre, where it has undergone the programme JIC ENTER with success. Thanks to the innovation it brings in the field of microscopy, its founders were the very first to receive the SME Instrument Brno grant. This way the city supports projects whose quality is assessed by independent evaluators from the European Commission by awarding the “Seal of Excellence.”