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OxyPrem AG

Brain oxygen measurement for preterm infants

Wysszurich keyvisual oxyprem

Potential

Our aim is to develop a specialized medical device to enable higher rate of survival in premature infants by monitoring brain oxygen levels in real time. While modern medicine has enabled more premature infants to survive, the ultimate goal is more healthy survivors. Achieving this goal would greatly improve quality of life and drastically reduce healthcare costs by avoiding lifelong consequences. NOAH, a specialized, high-tech medical device, has the potential to play a significant role in making this a reality.

Project Description

Preterm birth and its direct consequences are the leading cause of death for children under five years of age worldwide. Fifteen million infants are born prematurely every year, and about one million deaths are associated with prematurity. 

OxyPrem AG is building next-generation medical device that monitors brain oxygen levels of preterm infants in real time, using harmless, non-invasive near-infrared light. The device continuously measures local oxygenation with the precision and accuracy that are needed to assist in clinical decision-making for these high-risk patients.

Our device is reusable and sturdy, offering a feasible solution even for challenging environments. The team is working towards making the device fully compatible with standard hospital monitors. At Wyss Zurich, our device was introduced to clinical care on a wider scale; 30 hospitals in six European countries as part of a large-scale multicenter clinical study accelerating the medical community’s efforts to make brain oxygen measurement a standard component of clinical care.

Contact

Faculty Mentor

Martin Wolf

Portrait Oxy Prem mentor wolf 560

Partners and Funding

Project Partners

  • University Hospital Zurich, Neonatal Department
  • University Hospital Zurich, Biomedical Optics Research Laboratory
  • University of Zurich, BioEntrepreneurship & Innovation (BEI) Program

Funding Partners

  • UZH Entrepreneur Fellowship
  • EIC Accelerator Grant
  • EU Horizon 2020
  • University of Zurich Foundation
  • Uniscientia Foundation
  • Venture Kick
  • Venturelab

Achievements

06/2022
Wyss Zurich project completion

OxyPrem AG exits Wyss Zurich and is now part of our alumni group.

03/2022
OxyPrem AG obtains CHF 2.2M grant

The startup receives a ‘SERI-funded EIC Accelerator Grant’ from the federal government. Read more.

08/2020
Selected for first Africa Market Discovery program

Venturelab has selected OxyPrem AG among ten startups to participate in the first online Africa Market Discovery program. Read more.

09/2019
CE mark obtained

The project's OxyPrem 1.4 tissue oximeter system obtains the CE mark.

08/2019
Venture Kick Stage III support

The project receives the Venture Kick's final support for the further development of its device. Read more

12/2018
Wyss Zurich admission

OxyPrem is accepted as a full project. 

09/2018
OxyPrem AG incorporation

The UZH spin-off OxyPrem is incorporated as OxyPrem AG.

Founding Team

Stefan kleiser portrait

Stefan Kleiser

Co-Founder

Alexander nitsch portrait

Alexander Nitsch

Co-Founder

Daniel ostojic portrait

Daniel Ostojic

Co-Founder

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