Technology Transfer

in 2023


The IFAE’s knowledge and technology transfer (KTT) Unit supports the translation of research results from the institute to the society.

The process implies the recurrent attraction of competitive public and private funding for the valorisation of the most innovative and marketable IFAE’s deep technologies to be ready for market. The Unit is also in charge of protecting inventions and it manages a portfolio of more than 10 inventions, 6 out of them partially funded by the Catalan Government Patent Fund (Ginjol).

The IFAE’s intellectual property is mostly based on radiation detector technologies for medical imaging, security and quality control applications, but we also develop new technologies in the fields of quantum computing, smart sensing devices and advanced microelectronics readout systems.

The KTT Unit promotes the entrepreneurship culture among researchers in collaboration with BIST and business schools. 4 spin-offs have been incorporated, 3 out of them are currently active, offering products and services in Europe and beyond. IFAE makes also available its wide engineering capabilities, equipment and infrastructures by offering mechanics, electronics, microelectronics, control software & computing services to the international research community and industry.


2023 TECH. TRANSFER OUTPUT AT IFAE


1.4M€

AWARDED IN PUBLIC COMPETITIVE CALLS FOR INNOVATION PROJECTS IN 2023

0.2M€

INVOICING FOR SERVICES OF ENGINEERING, COMPUTING AND LICENSING

3.2M€

VENTURE CAPITAL RAISED BY SPIN-OFFS PARTICIPATED BY IFAE

2

NEW MEDICAL DEVICE INVENTIONS PROTECTED BY PATENT APPLICATION (EU AND US).

2

IMAGING DIAGNOSTIC PATENTS GRANTED IN 2023 (US AND CN)


  • A novel PET medical imaging technology was funded by the European Commission (ERC grant) to valorise it.
  • 1 collaborative research project was awarded in the framework of a Catalan Industrial Doctorate (AGAUR, Generalitat de Catalunya) based on machine learning developments for quantum computing and track reconstruction in particle accelerators. Partners: Qilimanjaro Quantum Tech S.L., UAB and IFAE.
  • 2 Disclosures of invention were analysed.1 New invention based on Positron Emission Tomography (PET) detector technologies, was protected by an EU patent application.
  • 1 Provisional patent application related to a detector for Proton Therapy became an US patent application.
  • 1 International patent application under the PCT was filed, based on a quantum computing EU patent application. Assignees: IFAE and Qilimanjaro Quantum Tech.
  • 2 technologies of the IPR’s portfolio became patent granted in CN and the US (mammography auxiliary system and PET/Compton camera device).
  • The interactions with the private sector led to the signature of 4 NDAs.
  • 5 public collaborative research agreements were negotiated in terms of IPR.
  • 12 customers (3 new) were users of the IFAE’s engineering services (computing and microelectronics).
  • Deep Detection’s spin-off closed a Series A investment round of 3.2M€ led by a national venture capital company (Bullnet Capital S.L), where IFAE participated in the investment and shareholders’ agreement negotiation and the update of the technology transfer agreement..
  • Baretek’s spin-off participated in a I-CERCA pilot program managed by AEROPA for the valuation of the spin-off, its intangible assets and ESG values.
  • Intel invested in Deep Detection and Qilimanjaro Quantum Tech spin-offs, by means of non-equity assistance funding rounds (Intel Ignite training programme). 4 IFAE researchers and engineers participated in the “From Science to Business” innovation and entrepreneurship course 2023 edition, organized by BIST with the participation of Deep Detection in the round table.
  • The IFAE’s KTT Unit participated in a round table with MIT and CERN innovation experts within the context of the 2023 annual meeting of the Einstein Telescope - Preparatory Phase (ET-PP) project.
  • The KTT Unit contributed to the Pla Estratègic d’Innovació i Transferència del Coneixement (PEIT) led by Direcció General de Transferència i Societat del Coneixement (DREU, Generalitat de Catalunya), providing insights on innovation actions prioritization.
  • The Head of the KTT Unit at IFAE participated as Jury member in the Premis Joan Roget’23, the Catalan Awards for Technology Transfer.