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Press release

KVK Innovation Top 100: QT Sense wins with quantum microscope for faster diagnoses

Groningen-based innovation offers new ways for healthcare and drug development

QT Sense was named the most innovative business in the Netherlands during the celebratory awards ceremony for the 21st edition of the KVK Innovation Top 100. This Groningen-based business has developed a unique quantum microscope that allows living cells to be examined in detail. The technology uses tiny diamond bits that make very weak magnetic signals visible and can measure with a sensitivity millions of times greater than current methods.

The innovation offers new options for healthcare and drug development. Using the microscope, researchers can watch in real time how single cells react to an infection, disease, or medicine. This may let them diagnose conditions more quickly and develop new treatments more efficiently.

Jury chair Ruud Koornstra: “QT Sense demonstrates what the Netherlands excels at on the international stage: translating groundbreaking science into applications that can make a difference in practice. The combination of technological innovation, medical relevance, and international growth potential makes this a very convincing winner.”

QT Sense originated from research carried out at the University Medical Centre Groningen. A first system is now being used in a hospital for research into the early diagnosis of sepsis.

Six category winners

The main jury selected the overall winner from the six category winners:

  • Labour Market and Society: Kranendonk Production Systems from Tiel with PORTABOT, a mobile welding robot that automates heavy welding work and helps to address staff shortages.
  • Agriculture, Infrastructure, and Water: Oyster Heaven from Kamperland with biodegradable reef structures for the restoration of oyster reefs and healthy coastal ecosystems.
  • Circular Economy: Plastilose from Delft with biodegradable medicine cups as an alternative to the millions of disposable plastic products used by the healthcare sector every year.
  • Energy transition: Covolt from Veghel, with an AI platform that automatically controls and optimises the operation of energy installations.
  • Health and Nutrition: QT Sense from Groningen, with a quantum microscope for the precise examination of living cells, and the Stichting GelijkGezond from Utrecht, with an innovative approach providing long-term personalised support to people facing multiple challenges.

Innovation Promise Awards

KVK also presented the Innovation Promise Awards to young enterprises and start-ups with great potential:

  • Labour Market and Society: PayWatch from Rotterdam, which uses AI to help people manage their finances and prevent debt.
  • Agriculture, Infrastructure, and Water: Catyra from ’s-Hertogenbosch, with a passive climate tower that protects crops from heat and drought.
  • Circular Economy: NewBin from Amsterdam, developer of a public waste bin that immediately separates returnable packaging from residual waste.
  • Energy transition: Whspr from Rotterdam, maker of an ultra-quiet heat pump for densely built-up residential areas.
  • Health and Nutrition: Rift Protein from Leiden, which develops sustainable plant-based proteins from drought-resistant crops.

Almost 10,000 public votes

The KVK Innovation Top 100 is not just a contest judged by experts. This year, the Dutch public cast nearly 10,000 votes for one of the 100 finalists. The category winners were determined based on the assessment of the expert jury (80% of the votes) and the public vote (20% of the votes). The main jury selected the overall winner of the 21st KVK Innovation Top 100.

About the KVK Innovation Top 100

The KVK Innovation Top 100 started in 2006 to showcase the innovative potential present in the Netherlands. The yearly contest shows how entrepreneurs use new ideas to meet social and economic challenges. There is no cash prize, and this is a deliberate choice. The value lies in visibility, recognition, and inspiration.