Capsule Photonics, a VU Amsterdam spin-off led by Prof. Johannes de Boer and Dr. Anouk Post, has won the Venture Challenge Winter 2024/2025!  The Venture Challenge helps starting entrepreneurs in the life sciences to bring their service or product to the market. The announcement was made at the Innovation for Health conference in Rotterdam — a fantastic milestone for the team and their innovative cancer-screening technology: LightUP. 

Revolutionising early cancer detection
LightUP is a pill-sized capsule that patients can simply swallow. Using a combination of Optical Coherence Tomography and targeted fluorescence imaging, it captures full 360-degree and subsurface views of the esophagus — creating microscopy-like images and highlighting cancer biomarkers. 

This makes LightUP a powerful tool for detecting esophageal cancer at an early, more treatable stage — with greater accuracy and lower cost than current methods. The screening can be done in just a few minutes by a single nurse, with no sedation needed. 

A team with vision and expertise
The Venture Challenge jury praised Capsule Photonics for their clear roadmap, regulatory insight, and strong clinical relevance. With Anouk Post’s 10+ years of experience in biomedical photonics and Johannes de Boer’s groundbreaking work in optical imaging, the team is perfectly positioned to bring this innovation to patients. 

What’s next
Following this win, Capsule Photonics is building momentum — they’re also a finalist in the Amsterdam Science & Innovation Award (AmSIA) 2025, with the finals taking place on June 17. The team is also exploring how their capsule technology could be adapted to screen other organs in the future. 

📍 Read more about the Venture Challenge:
https://www.lifesciencesatwork.nl/lsw-venture-challenge