MiWEndo Solutions is a spin-off of Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), the Polytechnical University of Catalonia (UPC), IDIBAPS-Hospital Clínic and the Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA). It was founded in 2019 to transform endoscopic diagnostics through a new imaging modality and artificial intelligence solutions.
According to MiWEndo Solutions’ management, this new project is a decisive step forward in the company’s strategic development, which is shifting from focusing exclusively on polyp detection to offering solutions for the in-situ characterisation of lesions during colonoscopies. The ultimate goal is to achieve more objective and efficient diagnoses earlier than before. This will allow physicians to decide in real time whether a lesion needs to be resected, which will reduce the uncertainties and costs associated with unnecessary biopsies.
The project will be carried out jointly with LEITAT, which will lead the mechanical design and additive manufacturing of the new device.
‘This funding allows us to strengthen our positioning as a technology platform for the endoscopy of the future. We are building a new generation of medical devices that combine microwaves, AI and synthetic data to improve professionals’ detection and characterisation of colorectal lesions, and we are doing so by listening to the market’s needs’, explains Tomás Escuin, the CEO of MiWEndo Solutions.
Marta Guardiola, the co-founder and CTO of MiWEndo Solutions, says that ‘With this project, we are taking on an ambitious technological challenge: to be able to characterise tissues in real time from inside the body using microwave signals. This isn’t just about detecting lesions, but about acquiring functional information so we can differentiate between healthy and pathological tissues during the same exploration. It is a key step towards a more precise and personalised endoscopy’.
Finally, Glòria Fernández Esparrach, the medical director of MiWEndo Solutions, an endoscopist at Hospital Clínic and a member of the IDIBAPS research group Gastrointestinal and pancreatic oncology, says that ‘Having objective and immediate information during a colonoscopy can completely change the therapeutic strategy. By being able to differentiate between benign lesions and those suspected of being invasive cancer at the same time, physicians can perform an in-situ resection or refer the patient to surgery when necessary, thereby avoiding unnecessary risks and optimising the use of healthcare resources. This technology brings us closer to a more efficient, safer and data-driven endoscopy’.
Meanwhile, MiWEndo Solutions continues with the clinical deployment of its first product, an accessory add-on for conventional colonoscopes. This device has already entered the second phase of its pivotal clinical study and is expected to obtain CE marking by the end of the first quarter of 2026.
