Been to the doctor lately? Over the years there have been plenty of medical breakthroughs when it comes to technology and there has been a lot of focus put on how to reduce the level of invasiveness patients have to endure. It's a sector that has become increasingly important and one that BlackBerry Co-Founders, Mike Lazaridis and Doug Fregin, are clearly thinking of, having just announced Quantum Valley Investments, a $100 million private fund that will provide financial and intellectual capital for the further development and commercialization of breakthroughs in Quantum Information Science. Among those breakthroughs, Mike Lazaridis mentioned the medical tricorder.
“What we’re excited about is these little gems coming out,” Lazaridis said in an interview in Toronto. “The medical tricorder would be astounding, the whole idea of blood tests, MRIs -- imagine if you could do that with a single device. That may be possible and possible only because of the sensitivity, selectivity and resolution we can get from quantum sensors made with these quantum breakthroughs.” “You’re using fundamental physics to measure things and you’re doing it in a way that is so sensitive that you don’t need to actually have physical contact,” Lazaridis said. “That opens up a whole new capability, whole new way of treating patients.”
Medical tricorders aren't exactly a new idea, especially if you're a Star Trek fan, but they've got an interesting history in the medical field and given Lazaridis' background on Quantum Physics and Nanotechnology it's easy to see why investing in such things would be on his radar. As for the fund itself, Lazaridis noted it will likely focus on one to two dozen startups and take a few years to start making full on investments. Needless to say, we've been wondering what Mike Lazaridis has been doing with his time since stepping down from BlackBerry -- I guess we now know. If you're looking for details, you can jump below for the full press release.
Mike Lazaridis and Doug Fregin Unveil $100 Million Quantum Valley Fund, Focusing on Commercializing Quantum Technology Breakthroughs
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