Echopoint Medical

Optical-fibre-based sensors for minimally-invasive procedures.

View of modern medical X-ray operating room (cath lab)

Echopoint Medical is developing a family of optical-fibre-based sensors that integrate into medical innovative devices, bringing unparalleled sensing modalities to minimally-invasive procedures.

The spinout seeks to transform coronary diagnostics by providing a complete picture of coronary physiology with deeper insights into what is happening inside the arteries. This helps clinicians make more informed decisions and tailored treatments that lead to better patient outcomes.

Angiography is the cornerstone of coronary diagnostics at present, but it provides only an anatomical picture of the arteries. Conditions such as microvascular dysfunction, vasospasm, or endothelial disease are invisible on an angiogram, meaning disease can be missed even when patients have significant symptoms.

As a result, patients may be undertreated or undergo unnecessary surgery, and opportunities for tailored, more effective care are missed.

IKor - a tool that measures both large-vessel and microvascular function in real time - could transform how patients are diagnosed and treated, by simplifying complex measurements into a single system.

The Echopoint journey so far:

  • 2019: Echopoint founded at UCL 
  • 2023: first-in-human trial, demonstrating the potential of iKor™ microcatheter system to transform coronary diagnostics.

Dr Weng Sie Wong

Senior Business Manager

Dr Wong brings extensive experience of all aspects of university technology transfer activities from strategic IP management to licence negotiations and spinout formation.

As a Senior Business Manager focusing on the commercialisation of medical technologies, healthcare engineering, medical imaging and AI-enabled healthcare innovations arising from UCL research, she has been involved in the formation of multiple spinouts and acted as a director on various boards.

Prior to joining UCL Ventures, Dr Wong was a senior technology transfer manager at Oxford University’s TTO, Oxford University Innovation, working on a diverse range of both life and physical science projects over a 10-year period.

Weng holds an MBA from Edinburgh University and a PhD in pharmacology from UCL.