About Mauna Kea Technologies

Founded in 2000, Mauna Kea Technologies (MKT) is specialized in the development of in vivo cellular imaging systems for biomedical applications. MKT has developed the world’s smallest microscope that is compatible with observations either on living animals for research applications or on patients for medical applications. Our goal is to provide researchers and clinicians with cellular imaging systems that will improve their daily practice, help them understand major pathologies and potentially diagnose them earlier.

Our unique, multidisciplinary approach has united professionals from the biology, medical, optics, astrophysics, image processing and computer engineering fields into a solid team with a single objective – provide and support the advanced imaging solutions that will play a vital role in the future of medical imaging and healthcare. The fruit of this collaboration is a product line of completely new and complimentary imaging and analysis tools that bridge the gap between traditional macroscopic and microscopic imaging technologies.

In 2004 we launched our first product suite, Cellvizio®. Designed for small animal (pre-clinical) imaging, Cellvizio® enables customers to conduct their research projects with a new degree of speed and accuracy. This remarkable technology enables in situ and true in vivo imaging of living organisms at the cellular and sub-cellular level.

Part of what makes Cellvizio® unique is the high-definition, smooth-motion video sequences that, for the first time, offers users the possibility to observe cellular events in real-time, inside the living organism. This is possible thanks to the reduced size of our confocal mini and microprobes which cause minimal damage to surrounding tissues and eliminate the inherent difficulties and bias encountered when living tissue is observed after being extracted from the organism or via highly invasive procedures.

In the clinical setting, Mauna Kea Technologies' Cellvizio® family of products offers new horizons to professionals in gastroenterology and pulmonology. Cellvizio functions on human patients via the standard endoscope or bronchoscope equipment already in place in most clinics. Our Cellvizio family of products equally provides researchers in pure science with the tools that help them to open new horizons and, later on, move preclinical projects along faster and more reliably.

Many future clinical uses will develop from the pre-clinical work currently being performed by Mauna Kea Technologies' customers. These include deep-brain imaging for neuroscience, peripheral nerve imaging in cases of neuropathy, ophthalmology, cardiopulmonology, regenerative medicine, immunology and, of course, oncology research (see our page on small animal applications).

Mauna Kea Technologies is presently developing an optical biopsy solution that will enable real-time, in situ in vivo histopathological examination of tissues in their native environment. Used in conjunction with the standard vital dyes that are already used in the clinic, our products may help clinicians enhance important procedures in many fields including gastroenterology and pulmonology.

We leverage the advantages offered by our structure to set ourselves apart and develop the privileged relationships with our customers in preclinical and laboratory animal research and clinical diagnosis that will enable to stay at the forefront of molecular imaging. MKT also prides itself on the exemplary pre and post-sales support that we offer our customers.

The company has offices in Paris and Newtown. If you would like more information on us, please contact us.