DeltaPoint, Inc., was selected as the overall launch-stage winner in this year’s annual Angel Oregon event hosted by the Oregon Entrepreneurs Network.

Research
DeltaPoint, Inc., was selected as the overall launch-stage winner in this year’s annual Angel Oregon event hosted by the Oregon Entrepreneurs Network. The company, based on research conducted at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), surpassed six other launch-stage companies to take home a $170,000 angel investment prize, the largest prize in the history of the investment competition.

DeltaPoint, Inc. is commercializing diagnostic software developed at OHSU’s Advanced Imaging Research Center (AIRC). The software was designed to non-invasively detect, diagnose and monitor breast cancer using a novel algorithm to analyze the results of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). It is the first MRI software that can reliably differentiate benign from malignant tumors. DeltaPoint, which plans to expand the technology to address other forms of cancer, aims to improve the quality of care for cancer patients and significantly reduce healthcare costs.

The technology licensed to DeltaPoint was supported by a grant from OHSU’s Bioscience Innovation Program (BSIP). BSIP provides proof of concept funding for commercially promising inventions and fills a critical gap in the development process, especially for early-stage technologies. “OHSU’s program is one of a growing number of ‘gap funding’ programs created by universities across the country to speed the commercialization of university inventions,” said Kristin Rencher, Director of Technology Development in OHSU’s office of Technology Transfer and Business Development.

The OHSU program is supported by donations to the OHSU Foundation. It is part of a larger program, the Innovation & Seed Fund (ISF), which supports commercialization of inventions created during the course of research at OHSU. Donations to the ISF can be made under the new University Venture Development Fund (UVDF) tax credit program. http://www.ohsu.edu/ohsuedu/about/foundation/fp_innovation_seed_fund.cfm

Of the 40 startup companies launched by OHSU research since 2000, nearly three quarters were launched as Oregon companies. A recent report prepared by ECONorthwest analyzed OHSU’s net economic impact in Oregon. That study included an analysis of OHSU’s research-based spinoff companies, concluding those companies contribute $372 million of economic activity a year in Oregon. The report can be found at http://www.ohsu.edu/impact.

As international leaders in research, OHSU scientists have reported well over 1,000 inventions since 1985, averaging one breakthrough, innovation or discovery every three days. The office of Technology Transfer and Business Development (TTBD) supports the university’s research community by collaborating with industry to facilitate research, license promising discoveries and create new companies. For more information about TTBD and innovation at OHSU, go to http://www.ohsu.edu/techtransfer.

About OHSU
Oregon Health & Science University is the state's only health and research university, and Oregon's only academic health center. OHSU is Portland's largest employer and the fourth largest in Oregon (excluding government). OHSU's size contributes to its ability to provide many services and community support activities not found anywhere else in the state. It serves patients from every corner of the state, and is a conduit for learning for more than 3,400 students and trainees. OHSU is the source of more than 200 community outreach programs that bring health and education services to every county in the state.

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