Inveox develops digital solutions for pathology laboratories. The Munich-based company's technology is designed to prevent unnecessary errors in diagnostics. Founding couple Maria and Dominik Sievert have a unique recipe for success.
Diagnosis: cancer. After the initial shock, the doctor and his patient discuss the next steps: treatment, prognosis, and chances of recovery. The family is informed, and then those close to him. What should happen next? A few weeks later, another biopsy is performed—and suddenly, the cancer is gone. Instead, the lab finds only benign tumor tissue, harmless. How can this be? The lab that examined the two samples is conducting an investigation.
At the same time, suspicious tissue is taken from another patient. After laboratory testing, the all-clear is given. Weeks later, the attending physician contacts him: "We need to talk. Your sample was swapped in the lab. You have cancer."
As a result, due to a pathology error, one patient and his family were unnecessarily placed in a traumatic situation. The other patient was notified of his diagnosis until several weeks later—a potentially fatal delay in the fight against the disease.
Situations like this happen again and again, says Maria SievertTogether with Dominik Sievert, now her husband, she founded the startup Inveox in February 2017.
"A case like this is just the tip of the iceberg. Many mix-ups are discovered in the lab in time. This then requires many hours for the pathologist and the attending physician to clarify the situation. This is simply financially detrimental for the lab. But there are also cases in which the patient has to wait longer, the wrong diagnosis is given to the patient, or even requires another operation. A prostate core biopsy, for example, is not something you want to undergo all the time."
Of all errors in pathology, approximately 70-80 percent occur during sample receipt, says Maria Sievert. Medical samples are mixed up, improperly packaged, or damaged during opening in the lab. Inveox is working to digitize pathology to prevent such errors using the latest technology.
Pathology 4.0
The team, which initially consisted of three people, has now grown into a company with 36 full-time employees and is located in Gate GarchingThe startup is developing three interrelated products: a sample container in which doctors send extracted tissue to the laboratory, a machine that removes the sample from the container, and a software platform.
The container is roughly the size of film canisters of yesteryear. The sample container, with its integrated filter, contains formalin at the bottom, in which the sample floats for transport. The containers are opened and processed in the laboratory by an automated system developed by Inveox. First, the sample data is recorded, the formalin is removed, and the tissue is automatically repackaged into a so-called biopsy cassette and photographed. The sample always remains in the container. This is intended to prevent confusion and contamination. Other companies have also worked on similar machines, but have always faced the same problem, says Maria Sievert:
"They always had the approach of handling the sample, for example with a robotic arm. On the one hand, there's a risk of contamination. On the other hand, the formalin makes the sample brittle, and it can quickly break into several pieces upon contact. For example, with a prostate biopsy, it's important to know whether the cancer was at the top or bottom. This can sometimes be difficult to determine with a broken sample."
The Inveox container avoids this problem with its pouring mechanism. Another advantage: laboratory staff no longer have to manually pour out the carcinogenic formalin.
The sample container is provided with an ID that enables data transfer, tracking, and process control. Photos, descriptions, tracking data, and more are then collected in an IT database and made available to the pathologist in their laboratory system. An integrated image recognition module in the machine uses special algorithms to capture the sample. As a result, Inveox provides a digital solution from the packaging and description of a tissue sample by the doctor, through its receipt in the laboratory, to its preparation for examination: the technology for Pathology 4.0.
“No startup can be successful on its own”
Although the Munich-based company has not been on the market for long with its digital pathology solutions, the startup has already been showered with awards: In 2017, Inveox won the most startup competitions of all German startups. In 2018, a whole series of further awards were added, including the Munich Startup Award. Participation in competitions is a method at Inveox, as Dominik Sievert explains:
"Competitions help you quickly refine your ideas. The jury consists of people who know what they're doing and can challenge or encourage you with their feedback, using their wealth of experience to help you progress. This was extremely helpful, especially at the beginning."
And the public impact of winning an award has another positive effect:
“After we win a competition, many applicants always approach us.”
Maria Sievert also emphasizes the “network effect” of competitions:
"At startup competitions, you meet many mentors and sponsors. Especially in the beginning, you depend on support. No startup can become successful on its own."
In general, the founder attaches great importance to networking:
"I network when I'm waiting in line for lunch and talking to the landlord of our building about what other startups might be moving in. Every conversation you have with someone is networking. The important thing is to just be open and get to know people."
She tells how, on her way to vacation, she was standing at the airport security checkpoint and started talking to the person behind her: a professor of pathology, as it soon turns out. She says:
"I'm often asked what advice I would give to young founders. I always say: Do your homework on networking!"
Her husband and co-founder also advocates thinking outside the box:
"I like to give students the advice to consciously do something outside of their required classes. You never know how that might help you."
During his studies, Dominik Sievert completed an internship at a patent law firm.
"I never thought I'd be reviewing patent applications and thinking about how to protect our intellectual property. Now it's super relevant that I have an understanding of this."
The same applies to personal contacts:
"When in doubt, the person you met on the subway, in the pub at night, or at a Baystartup event is the one who will invest in you, start working for you, or sign a client contract with you."
