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edfas.org ELECTRONIC DEV ICE FA I LURE ANALYSIS | VOLUME 24 NO . 1 50 diagnose other infectious airborne diseases. In addition, imec is also looking into its application in diagnosing dis- eases such as cancer. Interested companies are welcome to join this effort. “Despite the vaccination campaigns, there’s still a great need for accessible and reliable rapid tests to curb new virus outbreaks or to avoid unnecessary quarantine. With our license to imec’s groundbreaking technology, we aim tomake our ultra-fast PCR technology, whichwe now use for nasal swabs, also compatiblewith exhaled air—the perfect sample for silicon-based PCR. This first prototype will be tested at the airport in collaboration with Brussels Airport, Ecolog, andEurofins,” says KatleenVerleysen, CEO of miDiagnostics. “Our research investments through imec lead to new technological breakthroughs. The interplay between knowledge, research, and entrepreneurship provides economic and social added value. With the new breatha- lyzer, we are also making history in testing for COVID-19. The development of these tests is of great importance for public health. In this way we will be able to manage this pandemic evenbetter and increase the comfort for people whoneed tobe tested. That iswhy I amproud thatwehave been able to support the development and research of imec,” says Flemish Minister of Innovation Hilde Crevits. For more information, visit midiagnostics.com. PRODUCT NEWS Ted Kolasa, Northrop Grumman ted.kolasa@gmail.com PRESS RELEASE SUBMISSIONS: MAGAZINES@ASMINTERNATIONAL.ORG IMEC SIGNS LICENSING AGREEMENT WITH MIDIAGNOSTICS Imec, a leading research and innovation hub in nano- electronics and digital technology, and miDiagnostics, a spin-off of imec in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University, announce that they have signed a non-exclu- sive licensing agreement for imec’s patented technology whereby aerosols and droplets from exhaled breath are captured for screening for viral RNA throughmiDiagnostics ultrafast PCR technology. The agreement enablesmiDiagnostics to kickstart the commercializationof aCOVID-19breathalyzer (as opposed to classical COVID-19 testing methods based on blood, saliva, or a sample from the nose/throat cavity). In the past year, imec developed a breath sampler based on their unique chip technology and performed clinical studieswith theUniversityHospital andUniversity of Leuven. The studies show that imec’s breath sampler is capable of capturing the SARS-CoV-2 virus in exhaled air and detecting the viral RNA quickly and reliably. Also, imec developed a sampling instrument integrating the breath sampling technology and their ultrafast PCR-test, and optimized the robustness and ease of use, to achieve a functioning proof-of-concept to date. “I note with great pride that we have run an impres- sive course in the past months,” says Luc Van den hove, CEO at imec. “We have succeeded in transforming a promising concept and groundbreaking technology into a functional proof-of-concept that has passed both user tests and clinical studies. This is the first time that we have gone this far in the development of our chip technology toward commercialization. With this proof-of-concept, we can demonstrate—much closer to themarket—the added value of our technology, while significantly reducing the time-to-market for our partners. The license agreement with miDiagnostics is an important milestone for imec: Our breakthrough technologywill help curb the COVID-19 pandemic in the foreseeable future.” As COVID-19will certainly not be the last virus to engulf the world, imec is already looking further, by investigat- ing how its patented technology can also be applied to A demonstration sample of the proof-of-concept breath sampler.