On 27 May, the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC) officially signed the creation of and its stake in Criboos Tech, S. L., a new spin-off emerged from the CD6, a UPC research centre specialising in optical engineering. The initiative is the result of technology transfer from research conducted by a team linked to the centre and the UPC’s Department of Optics and Optometry: Meritxell Vilaseca, director of the CD6; Carlos Otero, a researcher at the CD6; Jaume Pujol, director of the Department; and Fernando Diaz, a researcher within the same department.

The new company focuses on the prevention, screening and monitoring of visual pathologies, building on the maturity achieved by technology developed within CD6 research projects. The company offers two solutions. The first is Criboos Prevent, a multi-test and multi-pathology screening tool for opticians, pharmacies and medical centres that enables fast, non-invasive and affordable testing to facilitate early detection and appropriate referral. The second is Criboos Track, a telemedicine solution for home-based patient monitoring, allowing ophthalmologists to prescribe regular tests and monitor clinical progress remotely.

AI to facilitate the detection of vision problems

The new spin-off bridges the gap between primary care and specialised ophthalmology, aiming to help reduce waiting lists, improve patient prioritisation and decrease avoidable vision loss. The technology behind Criboos Tech combines simple, low-cost hardware with artificial intelligence algorithms to perform visual tests that previously required specialised clinical equipment. The ultimate goal is to enable anyone to undergo eye screening at a pharmacy, at an optician’s or from their own home, with the same reliability as in a medical consultation.

Criboos Tech is the third spin-off launched by the UPC in 2026, reaffirming its commitment to technology transfer through company creation as a key pathway to transfer university-generated knowledge to society and the market.