FIT awards five Tech Grants to projects from the CHUV and EPFL

The Foundation for Innovation and Technology (FIT) has awarded five Tech Grants of CHF 100,000 each to projects from the canton of Vaud. Three FIT-InnoTREK grants go to Chorus Tre, HeteroSight and SixtineAI, which arose from the Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), and two FIT-Innogrant grants to Cookd Labs and Endobotica, developed at EPFL.

Chorus Tre has developed a secure platform allowing hospitals and researchers to analyze sensitive medical data without ever moving it outside its protected environment, reducing the time needed to access such data for research from several months to a few days. The grant will support Vanessia Wu in carrying out an independent security audit, launching first pilot projects with partner hospitals and creating a spin-off.

HeteroSight develops an AI tool that analyzes a standard biopsy slide to reveal whether a tumor contains several genetically distinct zones, information that helps physicians select the right treatment, as different parts of a tumor can respond differently to a targeted therapy. The grant will support Sadegh Saghafinia in assembling a first patient cohort and validating the model’s ability to predict this heterogeneity from biopsy images.

SixtineAI offers a platform allowing care providers, large hospitals, clinics and independent physicians to deploy and govern trustworthy clinical AI agents while retaining control of their sensitive data. Connected to existing medical systems and patient records, these agents integrate into daily workflows and assist with clinical and administrative tasks, including drafting discharge letters. The grant will support Sami Perrin in launching first clinical pilots at the CHUV, validating clinical benefit and safety, and preparing medical device certification and the creation of a spin-off.

Cookd Labs is developing a robotic laboratory coupled with artificial intelligence to develop, test and improve food formulations more quickly, for instance to replace certain ingredients or create healthier, more sustainable and more affordable alternatives, reducing what took several months of manual testing to a few weeks. The grant will support Germain Meyer in validating the robotic prototype and developing a first AI product for food industry manufacturers.

Endobotica is creating TREX, a teleoperated robotic system designed to improve the treatment of ischemic stroke. During the procedure, a physician removes the clot blocking a brain artery, and TREX helps locate and extract it with greater precision and safety. The grant will support Evgenia Roussinova in demonstrating the system’s reliability in the laboratory and refining it through feedback from future users.