Med-tech start-up Scopio Labs, which provides a full-field digital cell morphology solution, has announced a $50 million investment in its end-to-end hardware and software platform for digitizing, quantifying and analyzing blood and other digital cell samples. The Series C round included OurCrowd, Aurum Ventures, Mizrahi-Tefahot Bank Invest and Ilex Medical.Scopio’s technology utilizes deep-learning artificial-intelligence technology and high-definition digital scans of blood samples in order to more efficiently and accurately analyze blood tests. It has also developed an advanced blood test application, the full-field peripheral blood smear, which has been cleared by the FDA for medical use. The smear test allows for a more detailed blood analysis than the commonly-used Peripheral Blood Smear.“Deep learning can analyze hundreds of times more healthcare data from a patient, supporting physician decisions and detecting conditions like cancers, anemias and bleeding disorders, as well as infections and allergies,” said Scopio cofounder and CEO Itai Hayut.
“In the 21st century, people shouldn’t be looking through microscopes, manually counting cells,” said Hayut. “Scopio’s full-field imaging and AI platform means tens of thousands of cells in a single sample can be examined, counted and analyzed instantly and reviewed by a specialist regardless of location, leading to faster, easier and earlier detection and diagnosis of cancers and many other life-threatening medical conditions.”Scopio was founded in 2015, and has 85 employees at its US, UK and Israel hubs. Its platform is used in leading medical centers and laboratories around the world. The company will use the new investment to grow its team, focusing on technology, sales and strategic partnerships.
The use of AI in medical applications has been a rapidly-developing field and is a driving force behind the development of artificial intelligence – a subject of growing interest in the past decade. This week, AI experts from around the country gathered digitally to attend AI Week 2022, a conference dedicated to the advancement of AI research and utilization.While the government is currently stalling the enactment of a national initiative toward AI development and research due to budgetary reasons, individual organizations and companies in Israel are racing to create faster and smarter learning systems that could benefit many – if not all – tech industries.
