Feops, the Ghent-based developer of cardiac digital twins, has won the Flemish Government’s Prize for Scale-Up of the Year. The award was presented earlier this week during Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year ceremony.

Feops, a member of MEDVIA, was founded in 2009 by Mathieu De Beule (pictured with CFO Isabelle Decroos) and Peter Mortier as a spin-off of Ghent University. The company’s product HEARTguide turns CT scans into a “digital twin”, which the FEops team analyzes to determine device size, placement and potential complications. The Feops team then provides insights to the surgeon.

HEARTguide turns a one-size-fits-all approach to LAA closure into an individualized procedure, specific for every patient. The surgeon can even perform the procedure on the digital twin before performing it on the real-life patient.

“Feops is the winner of the Flemish Government Prize for Scale-Up of the Year because of its inspirational story that combines a passion for the product, a clear vision and perseverance,” said Hans Crijns, professor at Vlerick Business School and chair of the prize jury. “Feops has tapped into major growth potential with its technological breakthrough in a niche market in cardiology. The technology has been approved in major markets such as the EU, the UK, the US, Canada and Australia.”

Recently Feops announced the results of a study that found that its AI-enabled HEARTguide changes pre-procedural decisions in one-third of patients undergoing a transcatheter aortic valve implant (TAVI), and is associated with favorable clinical outcomes.

Feops was the recipient of funding in response to MEDVIA’s 2021.1 call for project proposals. The project focused on the optimilization of data transfer between Feops and hospitals or surgical clinics and was carried out together with UZ Brussel and Ziekenhuis Oost-Limburg.

The Entrepreneur of the Year award is sponsored by the Belgian offices of Ernst & Young.

Read MEDVIA’s interview with Feops researchers

8 December 2022
Written by Lisa Bradshaw