Dr. Sadegh Raeisi (PhD '14)
Alum, Faculty of Science
> Co-founder and CEO of Foqus Technologies
Current magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines may take up to 45 minutes or more - a challenge for people with medical conditions who struggle with tight spaces and loud noises for extended periods.
Dr. Sadeigh Raeisi (PhD '14), co-founder and CEO of Foqus Technologies, is on a mission to revolutionize the MRI experience by reducing scan times to five minutes, using quantum algorithms and machine learning to enhance the sensitivity of current MRI technology.
"MRI is the gold standard partly because it's not invasive compared to CT and PET scans," Raeisi says. "But the access is limited, especially for underrepresented communities, people with Parkinson's disease, those who are claustrophobic and even kids. Its access is extremely limited."
MRI machines use strong magnetic fields, radio waves and computers to make detailed images of the organs, bones and tissues inside a body. Foqus is developing a software that interacts with the workstation that operates MRI machines. This software uses quantum algorithms to extract quantum entropy from molecules inside the body, generating a stronger signal.
As a result, health-care providers can streamline the process with smarter scans that collect less data, making the scans faster and more efficient, and obtaining higher-quality imaging for early detection of diseases.
This innovative solution will help reduce the burnout that physicians and health-care workers are experiencing by addressing the long wait times for an MRI appointment, which average around 90 days in Canada. Foqus is making MRI more accessible and affordable for people with disabilities, health conditions and those in underserved areas.
"It's a really huge problem for one company to tackle and takes a village of different people to tackle it from many angles," Raeisi says. "But the scan time is, and has always been, the main bottleneck for improving access to MRI. Foqus is bringing all of the cool physics we have learned over the past three decades back to medical imaging."
Raeisi attributes his approach to innovation to his time at the Institute for Quantum Computing at Waterloo, where he learned directly from scientists and "pioneer superstars" who already had a good understanding of the science of quantum technologies. His exposure to leading innovators and visionaries fostered both high-level scientific research and practical innovation.
His current work with Foqus was inspired by his own PhD project, where he was focusing on the applications of quantum technologies. In 2021, Raeisi and his team started raising seed funding to develop Foqus Technologies and a prototype of their software, allowing them to start looking for a partner in the medical field to test out their product and get feedback.
That's when Waterloo's Velocity incubator came in and helped connect the Foqus team with the Robarts Research Institute in London, Ontario, through the BioNEXT program to work on their first pilot project with MRI machines. Raeisi is also working with advisors at Velocity, who are former founders, providing valuable feedback and advice as Foqus works on getting into the market.
"It was a huge breakthrough for us, not because we were getting funding or getting customers, but we got the opportunity to work with our potential customers and get feedback from people who are operating these MRI machines," Raeisi says.
Foqus' software has been validated by radiologists and tested on more than 20,000 MRI images already and is in the process of getting FDA approval, which will then allow the team to commercialize their first product. Their long-term goal is to get the Foqus software adopted into hospitals and communities globally.
"Current MRI technology is blind to most of the stuff in our body such as metabolites that can help monitor the metabolism of a cancerous tumor for instance as a patient goes through some treatment. There is also a lot of interest in getting to see other layers and molecules inside our body, and Foqus' technology would make that possible in the future. This would push MRI to a whole new level."
