Xyall has raised €7.6m to roll out its automated tissue dissection technology for molecular pathology laboratories worldwide.
The Eindhoven-based medtech startup, founded in 2018 by Guido du Pree and Hans van Wijngaarden, digitises and automates the tissue dissection workflow used to prepare tumour samples for molecular analysis, a step in cancer diagnostics that is still largely manual.
In current clinical practice, pathologists manually mark regions of interest on stained tissue slides.
Laboratory technicians then visually translate these markings, manually scrape the tissue and collect it for downstream analysis. Xyall said the process is time-consuming, hard to scale and constrained by a global shortage of laboratory technicians.
The company said its system combines high-resolution slide imaging, precise image registration, workflow optimisation and high-precision robotics to automate the step, reducing workload, speeding up case processing and eliminating the risk of cross-contamination.
Guido du Pree, chief executive of Xyall, said: “Over the past decade, PCR and next-generation sequencing technologies have advanced rapidly.
“However, the critical step of selecting tumour tissue for molecular analysis has remained largely manual, subjective, and imprecise.
“With our fully automated tissue dissection solutions, Xyall provides the missing link between morphological and molecular diagnostics.
“Molecular diagnostics play a key role in determining the most appropriate treatment, particularly in oncology.
“Laboratories are under increasing pressure to deliver results faster and more accurately, while facing a global shortage of specialised staff.
“The fact that the Tissector Table Top is already deployed in more than fifteen high-standing laboratories confirms that we are addressing a real and urgent need.”
Xyall’s first product, the Tissector High Throughput System, launched in 2021 for large molecular laboratories, can hold 1,800 slides and dissect more than 80 slides per hour.
In 2023, it introduced the compact Tissector Table Top for small to medium-sized labs, which holds 72 slides and dissects more than 30 slides per hour.
The company said the Table Top system is already in use at more than 15 molecular pathology laboratories, including tier-1 commercial, academic, pharma and research institutes in the US.
The investment was led by Capricorn Partners via its Capricorn Healthtech Fund II, alongside existing investors Sioux Technologies, Brabant Development Agency (BOM), Health Investment Partners and several private investors.
Dick Sietses, investment partner at Capricorn Partners, said: “Xyall enables pathology labs to operate more efficiently, and the evidence shows that it also supports more accurate diagnoses, particularly in fields like oncology where personalised treatment plans are essential.”
