Company names biotech veteran Chris Raanes as new CEO; also received a NIH SBIR Phase II Grant to augment multiple collaborative research programs
April 11, 2024 – Alameda, CA – Magnetic Insight, the global leader in magnetic particle imaging (MPI), has announced several recent developments that bolster their leading position in the MPI space, including the appointment of Chris A. Raanes as the company’s new CEO effective February 21st, a joint grant with The University of California at Berkeley to dramatically improve the spatial resolution of MPI, and an NIH grant to drive the sensitivity of MPI to the physics limits.
Magnetic Insight specializes in MPI, an innovative tracer imaging technology that offers the sensitivity of nuclear medicine without using radioactive tracers. In contrast to traditional methods, MPI offers enhanced image quality, simple logistics without time-critical deliveries, and no radiation exposure, enabling new applications and improving patient and doctor experience while reducing overall healthcare costs.
Led by the new CEO, Chris A. Raanes, Magnetic Insight is primed to make significant advancements in MPI technology, opening doors to a wide range of applications for a variety of medical conditions. Raanes will drive Magnetic Insight’s transition from preclinical to clinical space, changing what is possible in the medical imaging field. Raanes has over twenty years of experience in the medical device sector, having led companies through pivotal stages of growth and commercialization. Previously, he served as Spire Health’s President and Chief Executive Officer, where he supported the commercialization of a wearable sensor for respiratory patients. As President and CEO of ViewRay, he brought the company public on the NASDAQ and led the commercial introduction of the MRIdian, an MRI-guided radiation therapy system. He also held executive positions at Accuray Incorporated and Perkin Elmer Optoelectronics. He holds a B.S. and an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
“I’m honored to join the Magnetic Insight team, especially at such a pivotal time for groundbreaking research and advancements in the MPI space,” said Raanes. “This technology has the potential to reimagine medical imaging, expanding the field’s capabilities and providing an alternative to using radiation in many critical applications.”
As the worldwide leader in developing a new field of medical imaging, Magnetic Insight is supported by a combination of venture capital funding from leading technology investors, including Celesta Capital and 5AM Ventures, and scientific grant funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Magnetic Insight was also awarded a multi-million-dollar NIH Phase II Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant to develop the engineering underpinning their clinical MPI imaging platform development. The project addresses the absence of a clinical MPI scanner by building the low-noise electronics necessary for the general-purpose clinical MPI scanner, leveraging innovations in transmit/receive subsystem design and implementation.
This recent grant award augments funding from a separately announced collaborative NIH U01 grant with the University of California Berkeley to dramatically improve Magnetic Particle Imaging (MPI) spatial resolution and accelerate imaging applications for CAR-T cell therapies, stroke, gastrointestinal (GI) bleeds, and pulmonary embolisms, and an ongoing collaborative NIH Phase II SBIR grant with Johns Hopkins to integrate magnetic fluid hyperthermia into Magnetic Insight’s clinical imager under development to expand MPI’s application base beyond cancer diagnosis to include cancer treatment.
ABOUT MAGNETIC INSIGHT
At Magnetic Insight, we’re pioneering Magnetic Particle Imaging (MPI) — a groundbreaking non-radioactive alternative that can potentially replace over half of nuclear medicine scans and enable entirely new classes of imaging applications. This innovation not only addresses supply vulnerabilities but also enhances the imaging experience for both healthcare professionals and patients. After establishing ourselves as the leading provider of small animal imaging MPI solutions to universities globally, we are now transitioning MPI technology to the clinic. Fifteen Magnetic Insight MPI scanners have been installed worldwide at leading universities, including Stanford University, Johns Hopkins University, and the Karolinska Institute.
Research reported in this press release was supported by NIBIB, NINDS, NCI and the Brain Initiative of the National Institutes of Health under award numbers R44EB035078, U01EB034694, andR44CA285064. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health
