Review year 2022

After all the development in 2021, in 2022, we established and sold our actual product – the iMouse system! Focus: Retrofit within the existing environment without influencing the laboratory handling processes.

Our aim still is to reduce animal testing by implementing digitalization technology, leading to absolute objectivity and reduction of the human factor.

In 2022, we experienced the first annual service (exchange and cleaning), in hand with the first in-laboratory hardware update. Continuous iteration of hardware and software development directly tested with the animal specialists within the laboratory environment focus on usability and practicability.

Here, we thank the complete LIV team! Countless discussions with the complete team led us to the usability improvements we developed – together.

For our Data Management and Collaboration Software (iMouseTV) we could win a very experienced open-source software developer to support the iMouse team by modifying and improving the solution with a clear experimental focus. This leads to improvements in usability and experimental design to the scientists’ requirements.

2022 was filled with the following action items:

• Complete PLM at one customer (LIV laboratory, Hamburg)
• Meeting and exchanging with nearly all market companions in the pre-clinical research market.
• Presentation at Bundesnetzwerk3R – Digital Home cage focus with an outlook on what AI can deliver in future
• US trip – checking the possibilities in the US, meeting with possible investors on the East coast with the help of the organization of SIBB e.V.
• SAP HQ / Investor and Start-up discussions
• Several pitches in US/ EU – feedback: super exciting concept; if AI is part of the product in the future, they will invest. Just prove your ideas
• First time in Marseille at FELASA exhibition, France, together with Zoonlab – ventilated research rack focus
• Our team member Janine got a member of the COST association – support the community with a digital home cage observation focus

At our first US trip we found a professional and reliable Health tech focused and certified partner the Thaumatec Group . We aligned in joint AI PoC to prove the AI concept we have. We also agreed in a further joint development of hardware and software optimization.

We had over the year several discussions with the Pharma and Chemical environment. Outcome: “If the AI part is working, we will employ the iMouse System, but we have no resources to be part of the R&D right now” and “did the authorities in Germany already request such systems”? Interesting feedback because there are (so far) no scalable and modular digital home cage systems available.

With our new partner Thaumatec, we decided to divide the iMouse System into two parts:

1. Solution, ready for the market
2. R&D projects, open for funding and venture partners (7 single projects)

Regarding 1) we decided to optimize the system, industrial scale, retrofit, without modification/ drilling of existing environment. This includes a from the scratch new and own camera development with smaller cameras and optimized night vision. A further software development focusses on intuitive user interface and statistical data outcome for the researcher and scientist. Further proof: Overall system scalability and service to the customer.

Regarding 2) We are excited by the outcome of the PoC AI we did with Thaumatec Group, and regarding the further single projects, we will keep you updated in 2023. Partner discussions are ongoing.

With the GAIA-X, German hub, and domain health, we discussed the general implementation of a safe and compliant big data and data sharing approach required for our planned annotation AI network, tested with the friendly users already onboarded. This will be part of the 2023 development.

In 2023, we will setup the iMouse system in a new, only on the iMouse system focused company.

We acquired until the end of 2022 our first 3 customers and at the same time friendly users. In Q1 2023 we will install and update all existing systems with the latest development, described below.

We are looking for two more friendly customers and partners.

If you are interested, please contact us via Email at: info@imouse.info.

Focus: Software functionality, further use-case and usability optimization development.

In Q1/ 2023 we will submit our first paper, based on the research with the iMouse system.

Thanks for the intensive discussions and the strong support we got in 2022 by:

Our Team: Janine Kah, Mirko Lampe, Mathias Hänsel, Nader Halmuschi, Alexander Banas, Hendrik Krüger, Marcel Ludwig

The THAUMATEC TECH GROUP: Barend Smet, Dmytro Shestachuk, Artur Szprync, Maciej Flis, Mateusz Urbaniak, Maciej Stachura, Agata Opala

And all the others:

Isaac Connor, Katja Linke, Oliver Strauch, Ursula Müller, Christine Block, Heiko Juretzka, Norbert Zangenberg, Friedemann Pohlig, Jussi Helppi, Ronald Naumann, Nadine Sündermann, Oleksandr Tolchynskyy, Pia Empting, Dr. Daniel Havel, Mehdi Mobarek, David Carmignani, Joe Romano, John Coiro, Steve Miller, Engelmann Dirk, Sven Martin, Lucas Noldus, Ruud Tegelenbosch, Reinko Roelofs, Holger Russig, John Duperon, Matt Boes, Lawrence Moon, Dhireshan (Dee) Gadiagellan, Lukas von Ziegler, Markus Marks, York Winter, Mechthild Dahmen, Sandra Paschkowsky, …