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The Groningen Company VRelax has won a prestigious prize on 19 May. The international Prix Galien Medtech Innovation Award is presented to companies that are introducing meaningful developments in healthcare.

VRelax changes the approach to stress. Thanks to relaxation in Virtual Reality (VR), the lives of people with mental or physical problems are significantly improved. This allows existing therapy to be effectively supported without having to resort to additional medication or intensive supervision. The mission of VRelax: reducing stress and anxiety, distraction from worry or pain and giving people back control, by using fewer pills, and providing more VR solutions within healthcare.

The jury praises the approach of the Groningen start-up for its on-going (clinical) research and validation of the effect of VRelax within mental health care, hospitals and health and safety. The fact that this is done together with patients and scientific healthcare professionals attests to a long-term strategy in which users are central and the correct implementation of technical innovations is guaranteed. The recent CE certification helps enormously in this regard. The jury also appreciates the user-friendliness of the system. The app has a high degree of freedom of choice, allowing the user to choose which virtual environment best suits his / her state of mind at that time.

The jury of the Prix Galien MedTech Innovation Award expresses its sincere admiration for VRelax and their ability to use VR broadly in healthcare. This is a fantastic development for the vulnerable patient, but also for the care provider who is under a lot of stress, especially in COVID time. A development that is important, especially in situations where increasingly vulnerable patients have to be cared for with fewer and fewer people.

Many people suffer from stress, for example due to burnout, depression or anxiety. This results in a lot of personal suffering and high medical costs (CBS, 2019). Reducing stress and learning to relax, are important pillars of good psychological health that help to reduce healthcare costs and reduce medication use.

It is precisely because of the current pandemic that vulnerable groups are more likely to run into mental health problems. VRelax offers many applications during the crisis, but has also been used for much longer to support healthcare professionals and patients. Regular treatments are often a long, intensive process with personal guidance and accompanying medication. VRelax has been developed to offer a good alternative in this regard.

Excessive sweating, called hyperhydrosis, is a condition that often has no underlying cause. People who suffer from it experience social consequences in particular. Wet sweat stains and unpleasant odours can contribute to isolation and significantly affect personal confidence.

Based on their own dermatological research, Asser Dermatologist Wim Venema and Apotheker Ben Homan have found an active substance that penetrates deep into the skin and can act directly on the sweat glands. The initial results of the study are so promising that it was subsequently decided to set up the company Notoxins and to seek financing for further development into a (eventually) registered medicine. To date, hardly any suitable medication is available to properly treat hyperhydrosis.

Experienced (clinical) pharmacologist Reinier Schwietert has been recruited to provide the so-called clinical proof of concept for the medicinal use of the found product, who will design and supervise the further test program.

With the investment of Carduso Capital, Notoxins can carry out further developments and carry out the clinical tests, which should make the agent suitable for registered development as a registered pharmacotherapeutic treatment in mid-2022.

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More information can be found at:
www.notoxins.org
www.cardusocapital.com

For more information please contact:
Notoxins:  Reinier Schwietert, (+31) 6-5114 8308 Email: reinier@woodie-woodie.com
Carduso Capital: Koos Koops, (+31) 6-2298 9098 Email: koos.koops@cardusocapital.com

X-rays are a well-known method of looking “in the body” in the hospital for effects such as broken bones. As soon as someone has to have an X-ray, the caregivers stand behind a screen and sometimes a lead apron is put on if necessary. These measures are necessary because continuous exposure to X-rays can be dangerous. Radiation increases the risk of developing cancer. Limiting this radiation is therefore important in all cases.

Quantum dots are nanocrystals, so small that the quantum mechanical effects determine the properties of this material. These unique properties allow efficient capture of X-rays and converting them into electrical charges within the Quantum Dots. These charges are further amplified, converted into digital data and displayed as an image in the screen in front of a radiologist.

Application of Quantum Dots in the X-ray detectors has several advantages: Due to the higher sensitivity, sharper and thus more detailed images can be obtained; more importantly, the amount of radiation can be drastically reduced and the safety of both patient and caregivers is served. The application also lends itself to work with pre-formed detectors; for example, making mammography screening a lot less patient-unfriendly and it also allows the tissue to be photographed from multiple angles ‘in one shot’, so better screening can take place.

QDI is based on knowledge developed and patented at the University of Groningen. With the help of NWO Take-off grant, the knowledge was converted into a scalable business model. The initial technical validation was further supported by SNN VIA subsidy for prototype demonstration. In addition to the financial support from RuG-Holding, Carduso Capital has committed to the company. With this investment, QDI can further develop the proven basic technique in scaling up and prepare for cooperation with industrial leaders.

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For further information:
www.qdisystems.com
www.cardusocapital.com
www.rugholding.nl

For further contact::
QDI Systems:  Artem Shulga, (+31) 6-2600 2038 Email: a.shulga@qdisystems.com
Carduso Capital: Koos Koops, (+31) 6-2298 9098 Email: koos.koops@cardusocapital.com
RuG Holding: Corina prent, (+31) 6-2292 6660 Email: c.s.w.prent@rug.nl

The importance of patient’s mobility has been receiving a lot of attention in recent years. Movement accelerates the recovery of patients after being admitted to the hospital. Unfortunately, patients’ freedom of movement during IV-therapy is hindered by the well-known infusion pole. Ivy Medical offers a solution that tackles this problem.

With the help of an NWO Take-off grant, Ivy Medical was able to research and develop the technology for a new pumping mechanism. Furthermore, Ivy Medical identified several opportunities to improve the current standard of infusion therapy.

Ivy Medical develops a new, multifunctional infusion pump called the “Ivy One”. With the Ivy One, patients no longer have to walk with the infusion pole through corridors, crossing thresholds, and struggle themselves into elevators. The Ivy One can be worn as a shoulder bag, offering high wearing comfort and optimal flexibility during infusion therapy. The Ivy One does not require a drip chamber and can, therefore, operate regardless of its position, whether the patient is walking, sitting or lying down. Less time will be required for the pump to setup and, in addition, fewer alarms are generated, resulting in freedom of movement for patients, an additional cost saving for hospitals and less working pressure for the nursing staff.

With the investment of Carduso Capital, and the support of an Innovation credit, Ivy Medical can further develop Ivy One. After preparation for production the Ivy One is planned to be available to the market in 2022.
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More information can be found at:
www.ivymedical.nl
www.cardusocapital.com

For more information please contact:
Ivy Medical:  Melcher Frankema, (+31) 6-2665 7582 or send an email to: melcher@ivymedical.nl
Carduso Capital: Robert Polano, (+31) 6-1892 7553 or send an email to: robert.polano@cardusocapital.com

BioBTX is now ready for the next step – the first commercial production facility for sustainable aromatics in the world, which is planned to be built in 2023. This facility will be a global first in producing sustainable aromatics on a commercial basis, enabling production of circular plastics.

BioBTX is able to take significant steps in its ambition to realize a commercial plant to produce platform chemicals from waste plastics with a full circular and sustainable process. Three existing and two new investors have decided to finance the next steps. Carduso Capital, Vries Beheer and Lynnovation followed up on earlier investments, whilst Groeifonds of the Economic Board Groningen and NOM opted for co-financing.

BioBTX is an innovative technology provider for the conversion of end-of-life materials and biomass into platform chemicals, i.e. aromatics, such as Benzene, Toluene and Xylenes (BTX). These are essential to the production of high-value specialty products, such as clothing, carpets, construction materials, medicines, cosmetics and wind turbine blades.

Producing sustainable BTX on a commercial basis

The commercial production facility is planned to be built in 2023. In December 2019, a Series B investment round was completed, enabling BioBTX to take this significant step to realizing its ambitions for a commercial plant that will use waste plastics as feedstock. The Series C investment round for building the plant will commence in 2020.

“This investment represents a significant impulse for our plans”, according to Pieter Imhof, CEO of BIOBTX. “BioBTX has a perfect fit with Northern Netherlands’ sustainability ambitions and the commercial plant will be a very valuable contribution.”

The unique technology behind BioBTX

BioBTX has developed the Integrated Cascading Catalytic Pyrolysis (ICCP) process, which contributes to a fully circular and biobased economy with a sustainable production of platform chemicals from end-of-life materials or non-food biomass. The unique integration of two steps achieves a high flexibility in feedstock and process conditions. The use of waste plastic or non-food biomass results in significant CO2 reductions, avoids incineration or landfill, and replaces the current use of oil as raw material.

The technology has been proven on lab and pilot scale with a number of patents and further IP under development. A production unit for liquid biomass with a 10kg feed/hr capacity has been operational since September 2018 with proven performance and catalyst lifetime. An additional unit for solid biomass as well as plastics & composites was installed in 2019 to demonstrate full circularity options with the ICCP technology.

Pieter Imhof continued “At BioBTX we have a science-based and low-key pragmatic approach. It has enabled us to quietly take a giant leap forward towards the production of cost-effective sustainable aromatics. This will be a gamechanger. I am very proud of what my team and our partners have achieved.”

A revolutionary company

BioBTX was started by regional entrepreneurs KNN and Syncom, with technical and scientific contributions from Groningen University (RUG). The company has its facilities for the production of sustainable platform chemicals in Groningen, the Netherlands.

BioBTX was the first to make 100% bio-based PET, as demonstrated by the cosmetics container lids and winning the Bio-based Innovation award Europe 2016.

The company has been selected by The Sustainable Packaging Coalition and The Center for the Circular Economy at Closed Loop Partners among five entrepreneurs and start-ups that are capable of successfully recovering multi-material flexible packaging waste for new applications.

ViroTact is at an advanced stage with the development of a COVID-19 test in which a determination is given within 30 seconds about whether or not the coronavirus is present in the tested person. This makes an important contribution to preventing the virus from spreading.

ViroTact uses its proven innovative and patented technology platform and expects to have the test available in 8 weeks.

Containing the virus is essential for the health of individuals and for controlling this global pandemic. According to specialists at John Hopkins and Harvard, tracing the virus through intensive corona infection testing is the only option to tackle the pandemic and get society back on track. To do that safely, the estimation is that more than 5 million tests a day are needed in the US alone.

Current virus detection tests are taking too long, are too expensive and labour intensive, or require specialized equipment and personnel. So there is a need for a quick point of care COVID-19 test.

ViroTact technology is based on the detection of unique proteases that are produced by viruses or bacteria. Infrared light is released in the presence of the viral protease, which is received by a specially designed portable detector and gives an immediate result.

“Thanks to the simple design and portable detector, it is possible to immediately determine whether a person is carrying the virus. Our test can be used point of care, at the general practitioner, at the emergency room or at a mobile test location and, for example, at airports and contributes to containment of the spread of the virus ”, says Joost Gazendam, CEO ViroTact.

Carduso Capital has given a substantial financial injection to accelerate development and time to the market.

Groningen, May 6, 2020

eRoutes is a start-up in Groningen with the mission to create a healthier world by making daily healthy exercise easily accessible and fun instead of being something that has to be done. It concerns a platform that creates globally unique circular routes, matching the desired distance and the location of the user. This idea originated from the ‘Healthy Ageing’ initiative with which the UMCG (the University Medical Center Groningen) has put healthier ageing at the heart of its activities.

Originated from personal motive

Entrepreneur Edwin Kuipers’ idea arose from a strong personal motive. Although he has been active all his life, he suddenly experienced a cardiac arrest at the age of 43. He managed to survive the heart attack because of his great walking stamina. During his recovery, Kuipers did not want to walk the same lap every time. A mobile app that creates surprising circular walking routes was developed and launched in 2018, followed by the web version a year later. This allows a user to choose in what way he or she wants to orientate and use the route guidance: through mobile, smartwatch, GPS device or on paper.

Proven relevance

The relevance of eRoutes has already proven itself in the more than 73,000 registered users of the platform. The number is currently growing with around 250 new users a day. Also in today’s COVID-constrained society, where people still want to get away from it all and often visit parks, nature reserves and beaches in large numbers, eRoutes offers a nice added value. Routes are generated from one’s own home, which automatically creates a Corona responsible dispersion of recreational walks.

Accelerated development and growth

The investment will enable eRoutes to accelerate the development and growth plans. This involves automated enrichment of routes with, in particular, cultural-historical information, points of interest, museums and restaurants. In this way, eRoutes becomes a ‘on the fly’ guide that can be designed according to personal preference: it is more complete, up-to-date, omnipresent and not limited to a specific distance or location. eRoutes can be seen as the ‘next step’ of conventional applications, such as paper walking guides and leaflets.

‘In this way we can get (and keep) people moving based on ‘fun’ and ‘recreation’, making regular exercise a logical result of something fun, educational and inspiring rather than something that “has to be done”, according to Edwin Kuipers.

In addition, a cycling route module will be added to the platform. This will serve a broad audience and will make it possible to accelerate partnerships within both the tourism and health sector in order to achieve substantial growth at national and international level. The launch of the enriched platform will take place in the second half of 2020.

VRelax B.V. joins forces with Carduso Capital B.V. and Triade Investments.

VRelax has found the right investors in Carduso Capital and Triade Investments to further empower care-professionals to reduce stress, burnout and pain within the health sector using Virtual Reality. VRelax offers a solution to the increasing demand for help for remedies against these health complaints.

The number of people suffering from stress in our society grows every year, increasing the costs in healthcare and our society. In addition, the influx of patients puts increasing pressure on healthcare professionals. This changing healthcare landscape therefore offers opportunities for solutions that fit in with this, such as VRelax.

The scientifically validated app was developed together with patients and the University Medical Center Groningen. It offers a wide range of interactive Virtual Reality worlds and exercises. The controlled distraction of stress, pain and worry gives patients the opportunity to recharge mentally without effort.

With the help of Carduso Capital and Triade Investments, VRelax can make use of more knowledge, expertise and a wider network. With the increased clout, VRelax wants to conquer a prominent place in healthcare in the field of stress reduction by means of Virtual Reality.

VRelax focuses on clients within mental healthcare, hospitals, general practitioners, nursing homes and occupational health and safety services. Together with these institutions VRelax is working on the implementation of Virtual Reality on the work floor. VRelax therefore continues to invest in research and product improvement in order to connect with the healthcare of tomorrow.

More information can be found at:

• www.vrelax.com
• www.triadegroep.nl
• www.cardusocapital.com

Free to use image material can be found here: www.vrelax.com/pers/

For more information please contact:

• VRelax: Stefan Vogelzang, (+31) 6-16780965 or mail to info@vrelax.com
• Carduso Capital: Frits Kok, (+31) 6-53751211 or mail to frits.kok@cardusocapital.com
• Triade Investments: Hilbrand van der Zee, (+31) 6-20959758 or mail to h.van.der.zee@triade.umcg.nl

ABOUT VRELAX

VRelax is a scientifically validated app developed together with patients and professionals. It helps people with stress, pain and burn-out complaints by using Virtual Reality to reduce these complaints. The VRelax dashboard offers healthcare professionals direct insight into the effects of VRelax, and the GRIP monitoring function enables professionals to explore virtual worlds together with the patient. The healthcare sector is changing rapidly and VRelax is moving along. In combination with strong collaborations, this all-in-one solution fits in perfectly with the care of tomorrow.

Promotional video: https://vimeo.com/410534849

BUKU: the Groningen Start-Up that has developed a streaming platform, for making study books digitally available in higher education.

The investment will be used to implement the growth plans in the so-called “emerging markets” and to accelerate in the Netherlands. With the investment, BUKU can not only attract additional programmers, but also can assemble and activate more local teams in the countries where it will be rolled out.

During his studies, founder Jeff van der Laan saw on one hand that many students did not buy the expensive study books or used older versions, and on the other hand that the “purchased” study books were often not or only partially used. This results in declining turnover for publishers and in teachers and students having to improvise because the study material is not in order. With BUKU, students can, based on an affordable subscription fee, use all the study books of the platform unlimited; Universities and colleges can therefore prescribe the most up-to-date and high-quality textbooks. Publishers thereby generate stable income. Furthermore, a significant saving on raw materials and logistical costs is achieved through the digitization of study books.

By rolling out in countries where textbooks are even more priceless than in the developed Western countries, there is a contribution to the improvement of the study climate there. Central and South American countries, as well as African countries, will be the first to benefit from this. In these countries too, an earning-model is created for publishers, where they currently have limited activities.

Besides Carduso Capital, Boost-Up Groningen is co-investing in Buku.

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Website BUKU: https://buku.io

BioBTX is able to take significant steps in its ambition to realize a commercial plant to produce platform chemicals from waste plastics with a full circular and sustainable process. Three existing and two new investors have decided to finance the next steps. Carduso Capital, Vries Beheer and Lynnovation followed up on earlier investments, whilst Groeifonds of the Economic Board Groningen and NOM opted for co-financing.

BioBTX is an innovative technology provider for the conversion of end-of-life materials and biomass into platform chemicals, i.e. aromatics, such as Benzene, Toluene and Xylenes (BTX). These are essential to the production of high-value specialty products, such as clothing, carpets, construction materials, medicines, cosmetics and wind turbine blades.

BioBTX is now ready for the next step – the first commercial production facility for sustainable aromatics in the world, which is planned to be built in 2023. In December 2019, a Series B investment round was completed, enabling BioBTX to take this significant step to realizing its ambitions for a commercial plant that will use waste plastics as feedstock. This facility will be a global first in producing sustainable aromatics on a commercial basis, enabling production of circular plastics. The Series C investment round for building the plant will commence in 2020.

“This investment represents a significant impulse for our plans”, according to Pieter Imhof, CEO of BIOBTX. “BioBTX has a perfect fit with Northern Netherlands’ sustainability ambitions and the commercial plant will be a very valuable contribution.”

BioBTX has developed the Integrated Cascading Catalytic Pyrolysis (ICCP) process, which contributes to a fully circular and biobased economy with a sustainable production of platform chemicals from end-of-life materials or non-food biomass. The unique integration of two steps achieves a high flexibility in feedstock and process conditions. The use of waste plastic or non-food biomass results in significant CO2 reductions, avoids incineration or landfill, and replaces the current use of oil as raw material.

The technology has been proven on lab and pilot scale with a number of patents and further IP under development.  A production unit for liquid biomass with a 10kg feed/hr capacity has been operational since September 2018 with proven performance and catalyst lifetime. An additional unit for solid biomass as well as plastics & composites was installed in 2019 to demonstrate full circularity options with the ICCP technology.

Pieter Imhof continued “At BioBTX we have a science-based and low-key pragmatic approach. It has enabled us to quietly take a giant leap forward towards the production of cost-effective sustainable aromatics. This will be a gamechanger. I am very proud of what my team and our partners have achieved.”

BioBTX was started by regional entrepreneurs KNN and Syncom, with technical and scientific contributions from Groningen University (RUG). The company has its facilities for the production of sustainable platform chemicals in Groningen, the Netherlands.

BioBTX was the first to make 100% bio-based PET, as demonstrated by the cosmetics container lids and winning the Bio-based Innovation award Europe 2016.

The company has been selected by The Sustainable Packaging Coalition and The Center for the Circular Economy at Closed Loop Partners among five entrepreneurs and start-ups that are capable of successfully recovering multi-material flexible packaging waste for new applications.

For more information, please contact BioBTX via info@biobtx.nl or +31651521179