The new Kuopio-based technology company has acquired the rights to an innovation emerging from research conducted at the University of Eastern Finland and Kuopio University Hospital.
The research-based invention, which introduces a novel software solution for video processing in microsurgery, is now moving towards commercialisation. Surgerix, a newly founded technology company in Kuopio, has acquired the patent and trademark rights to the innovation from the University of Eastern Finland, and is now continuing product development with the aim of entering international markets.
Surgerix’s software solution provides surgeons with a better view of the tissue being operated on, and its surrounding area, in a single, expanded video feed. This real-time video processing method is compatible with surgical microscopes, endoscopes and other camera systems commonly used in modern operating rooms.
Initial user testing has proven successful at speeding up surgical procedures performed under a microscope, thanks to the expanded view provided by the software solution. By shortening the duration of surgical operations, the technology has the potential to reduce the risk of complications and shorten hospital stays.
“Surgical work requires extreme precision. By providing surgeons with better visibility, we allow them to focus on what matters most: patient safety,” Surgerix CEO Mikko Pitkänen says.
The innovation is rooted in research on camera technology and mathematical algorithms, carried out in the HUMEA Laboratory at the Department of Technical Physics, and in the Interactive Technologies Research Group at the School of Computing, University of Eastern Finland, as well as in the Microsurgery Center at Kuopio University Hospital.
The commercialisation of the innovation has been made possible by the ER4Surgery project, which secured Research to Business funding from Business Finland in 2023–2025. Research to Business funding is intended for public research organisations to support projects where teams and individual researchers strive to create new business and commercialise innovations arising from their research.
Surgerix is currently getting ready for a funding round to support further product development, the first pilot projects in the Nordic countries and Europe, and rapid scaling of the innovation from training centres to hospitals.
“We are seeking both domestic and international investors, both private individuals and early-stage venture capital firms with a focus on health technology. For us, product development is a top priority, so that we can transform the research prototype into a fully functional commercial product within the next few years. At present, we are offering surgical training centres worldwide a software licence for educational and research use,” Pitkänen says.
For further information, please contact:
Mikko Pitkänen, CEO, Surgerix Oy, [email protected], tel. +358 500 874 489
Pasi Karjalainen, Professor, Department of Technical Physics, University of Eastern Finland, [email protected], tel. +358 40 355 2546
