Durham startup launches new live-cell imaging system

Ramona, a Durham provider of advanced imaging technology for life sciences, has launched a live-cell imaging system that significantly improves speed and throughput for analyzing cells.

The Vireo system uses miniaturized video microscopes and real-time image processing through artificial intelligence. Ramona said in a news release that Vireo can help give scientists better, faster insights into drug discovery.

“The need for precise, gentle, and high-throughput imaging technology has never been more critical,” said CEO Gregor Horstmeyer. “By addressing the limitations of existing systems – including limited throughput, limited temporal resolution, and photodamage risk – we’re providing scientists with tools to maximize efficiency and explore cellular dynamics in previously impossible ways.”

Ramona, founded in 2018, is working to improve microscopy for model organism research, cellular screening and other life sciences applications. Its primary product, MCAM (multi-camera array microscope), captures cellular-level detail over large fields of visual data.

In 2021, Ramona was awarded a $65,000 state grant to develop MCAM. The One North Carolina Small Business Program included Ramona as one of 29 companies in a $1.5 million round of grants funded by the federal CARES Act of 2020. The Office of Science, Technology & Innovation in the N.C. Department of Commerce administered the grants.

With Vireo, Ramona aims to set new throughput speeds and standards. The company claims Vireo can analyze an entire 96-well plate across five channels in less than two minutes.

The product’s commercial launch follows a year-long early access program for research institutes. Two early users are at the UNC School of Medicine: The Neuroscience Center and the Carolina Institute for Development Disabilities.