CRIAM honoured by ANI
An innovative device, portable and cheaper than conventional equipment, which allows you to test your blood type in three minutes, was the winner of the BfK Awards, presented by ANI as part of WSA Portugal.
The solution, developed by 6-year-old Portuguese start-up CRIAM, makes it possible to achieve a compatibility result in emergency situations, reducing dependence on the O- blood type. This device can be used anywhere and in various scenarios, such as inside a moving emergency vehicle or in hard-to-reach places without internet or power.
João Mendes Borga, ANI’s director, says that “CRIAM is an absolutely innovative solution, with no competition on the market, and that given the current development of medicine and the need to increasingly streamline healthcare processes, this project will be easily accepted on the market, which is its main objective.” The ANI director also emphasises the fact that CRIAM is the result of a spin-off from the University of Minho as “yet another example that the transfer of knowledge to the economy is taking place and that it is contributing to Portugal having an increasingly competitive and differentiated offer in global markets”.
Headquartered in Braga, CRIAM estimates a potential market of 4 billion euros, spread over around 170,000 hospitals and 100,000 ambulances. The start-up highlights the health, military, government and non-governmental organisation markets as potential customers. Geographically, CRIAM will first target the EU and the US for blood typing, the EU for COVID-19 serological tests, and the emerging markets of Africa and South Asia for Tuberculosis tests.
Since 2017, ANI has awarded 50 projects and start-ups born out of academic research in national innovation competitions and prizes promoted by organisations such as APDC – Portuguese Association for the Development of Communications, Crédito Agrícola, COTEC, BPI and Altice Labs, through the BfK programme.
Born from Knowledge (BfK) is a programme promoted by ANI that aims to promote a culture of valuing scientific and technological knowledge in Portugal, distinguishing and rewarding good practices and success stories.
