Success for DeepEn: Leibniz-IPHT Spin-off Wins Special Prize at the Thuringian Innovation Award 2024

The young company DeepEn GmbH, a spin-off of the Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology (Leibniz IPHT), has been awarded the Special Prize for Young Companies at the Thuringian Innovation Award 2024. The award ceremony took place on December 4 in Weimar. Sponsored by the Funke Media Group, the prize is endowed with €10,000 and recognizes outstanding achievements by innovative start-ups in Thuringia.

DeepEn specializes in the development of ultrathin endoscopes made of optical fibers. These instruments, which are ten times smaller than conventional devices, open up completely new insights in the life sciences. In particular, the endoscope promises groundbreaking advances in neuroscience: it can record neuronal activity at speeds of up to 25,000 signals per second. The founding team of DeepEn – Sergey Turtaev, Jiri Hofbrucker, Hana Cizmarova and Patrick Westermann – plans to bring this technology to market by the end of 2025.

A Prime Example of Successful Technology Transfer

“This company is a standout example of how excellent research not only results in outstanding publications but is also swiftly transformed into a robust product—a truly fascinating process,” says Prof. Jürgen Popp, scientific director of the Leibniz-IPHT. “It’s inspiring to witness the passion this young team brings to their work and their dedication to showcasing their solution at trade fairs and conferences.”

Minister Tiefensee: “Revolutionary Technology from Thuringia

Thuringia’s Minister for Scientific Affairs, Wolfgang Tiefensee, praised DeepEn’s achievements and emphasized the importance of such innovations for the region: “This year’s special prize of the Thuringian Innovation Award goes to DeepEn – a young team from Leibniz-IPHT. With their hair-thin endoscopes, they are developing a revolutionary technology that impressively demonstrates the innovation potential we have here in Thuringia. These groundbreaking methods and products originate here and have an impact far beyond our borders.

Decades of Research as a Foundation

Although DeepEn was founded only this year as a spin-off from Leibniz-IPHT, its technology is based on more than a decade of intensive research. This work was carried out at the Leibniz-IPHT laboratories, the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, and the Institute of Scientific Instruments of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Brno.

A key milestone for the spin-off is the contribution of Prof. Tomáš Čižmár, DeepEn’s scientific advisor. Čižmár was recently awarded the prestigious Czech Minister of Education Prize for his work on holographic endoscopes for neuroscience research.These groundbreaking technologies could transform medical research and enable new approaches to exploring the human brain.

Thuringian Innovation Award: Celebrating Outstanding Ideas

The Thuringian Innovation Award is organized by the Thuringian Ministry of Economy, Science and Digital Society in cooperation with the Foundation for Technology, Innovation and Research Thuringia (STIFT), TÜV Thüringen e. V. and the Ernst Abbe Foundation.The jury evaluates projects based on criteria such as degree of innovation, entrepreneurial performance, and sustainability.

Photos: © STIFT/ Sowinski