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The Munich-based startup Inveox has won the Munich Startup Award 2018 and can, therefore, look forward to a prize money of 5,000 euros. The associated trophy was presented by Mayor Josef Schmid on Tuesday at the Bits & Pretzels on the stage of the Schottenhamel Oktoberfest tent.

The company from Garching near Munich has developed an innovative vessel for tissue samples that makes manual decanting and labelling of samples or difficulties in finding a punch biopsy a thing of the past. The sample container integrates part of the biopsy cassette directly into a hidden mechanism in the lid of the transport container. For the first time, automated and safe repacking and encapsulation are possible at the sample entrance. The system is designed for a daily throughput of up to 3,000 sample containers.

In addition, the container has an individual ID with which the sender can digitally link all information relevant for the analysis with the code on the container. This makes it possible to document and track the sample throughout the entire process. Once all data has been collected, the sender can print out a test order and send it with the sample to the laboratory. Here the information can be quickly and easily read from the 2D code and imported into the individual laboratory information system (LIS).

In manual, paper-based sample dispatch, in which people manually label and pack the samples, create a test order, and where people manage, identify, re-label, and repeatedly verify the samples when they arrive, can sometimes lead to errors. For physicians and patients, a clear allocation of patient data to the tissue sample during the entire process is of central importance.

The “digital examination order” developed by Inveox also saves doctors and laboratory technicians a lot of time because repeated queries become superfluous and they can process examination orders for tissue samples digitally, securely and in real time via a web-based data and communication platform. In addition, patient safety will be significantly increased.

“With the digital examination order, we are pleased to provide laboratories and treating physicians with a secure platform for fast and precise data and information exchange,” says Dominik Sievert, cofounder and managing director of Inveox. “Inveox saves enormous amounts of time on both sides and also makes a significant contribution to patient safety through process security.”

Mayor Josef Schmid explained at the award ceremony: “The award recognizes the courage, innovative strength and passion of Munich’s founders and is a recognition of the important impulses for our economy that this has generated.”

Inveox cofounder Maria Driesel was delighted with the success and the award. “It is an incredible honour! We are extremely pleased about the recognition and especially about the fact that we were able to draw so much attention to an essentially important topic: Healthcare”, she said.

Photo: Munich Startup