Ciprion Ionita is an accomplished academic researcher at the University at Buffalo.
He’s tired of watching good ideas stay on the shelf.
Ionita is part of a team commercializing UB technology.
His startup, QAS.AI (Quantitative Angiographic Systems), has risen quickly from UB labs into a project approaching human trials.
“You can develop great ideas and take them up to a certain level, but then the companies put them on the shelf because it doesn’t fit their priorities,” he said. “This time, we’re not going from company to company telling them what they should do. We’re going to prove that it works and then let them come to us.”
QAS is a software platform that will be uploaded to existing medical scanners, and then use artificial intelligence to tell neurosurgeons the outcomes of specific procedures on patients.
The tech has long shown promise, said Ionita, the company’s CEO and an assistant professor of biomedical engineering and neurosurgery. But advances in technology give the AI a more nuanced view of an individual patient and potential medical outcomes.
The team includes Kelsey Sommer, a UB Ph.D. candidate who is QAS’ chief operating officer; UB Ph.D. candidate Mohammad Mahdi Shiraz Bhurwani, who is leading the technology buildout; and UB research assistant professor Vincent Tutino, serving as CFO.
Up next: the team is working toward federal recognition as an investigational device exemption (IDE), which will pave the way for in-person trials next year.
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Ionita and Sommer said they believe they can design a trial that is cost-efficient and proves both the safety and effectiveness of their tech.
If those two things happen – IDE notification and a successful in-human clinical trial – they say QAS could quickly have a market-ready technology. They say conversations with potential partners have been extremely encouraging.
“We’ve spoken to at least 50 neurosurgeons across the country, and they all say they want an AI software to act as a surgical companion,” Sommer said. “We spoke to another 50 people when it comes to the software integration side. They told us they would love to integrate software into their scanners that help neurosurgeons overcome issues they face."
QAS is supported by $256,000 from the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Small Business Technology Transfer program to support development of its software; has received $100,000 from UB’s Buffalo Innovation Accelerator Fund; and is expected to receive grant funding from UB’s Center for Advanced Technology in Big Data and Health Sciences. UB’s Business and Entrepreneur Partnerships team has led the company through the university’s funding and mentorship opportunities.
The QAS team also took part in the National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps program at UB, as well as a national version of the program.
Founded last year, QAS’ progress qualifies as a fast rise in the slow-moving world of biomedical commercialization. There are plenty of challenges ahead – particularly in determining the specific product-market fit. Sommer said QAS will use its popularity among surgeons to drive adoption by the manufacturers of the scanners. Sommer and Ionita are both scientists at heart, and they said that at some point, a business leader will be necessary.
But if it happens, that will qualify as a good problem. It will mean they’ve lifted a disruptive device out of the lab and into the world of growth-stage biomed.
“Neurosurgery is just the start of it,” Ionita said. “Our approach can be applied to other specialties. There’s a lot of room for expansion on what we’re trying to do.”
