Deep insights into the brain and other organs - with unprecedented resolution and minimal invasiveness: this is made possible by DeepEn GmbH from Jena. Its technology opens up new opportunities for neuroscientific research and medicine. Behind it is a spin-off from the Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology (Leibniz IPHT) in Jena, which has developed the world’s thinnest microscopy device. For this innovation, DeepEn has been awarded the Leibniz Association's 2025 Start-up Prize, endowed with 50,000 euros. The start-up, which was founded in 2024, plans to use the prize money to prepare for the market launch of the microendoscope, NeuroDeep, at the end of 2025. “We are planning a major marketing campaign and participation in trade fairs in Europe, Asia and the USA,” says Hana Čižmárová, MD, head of customer development at DeepEn. “We can make excellent use of the prize money for this.”

With the help of precise holographic light control, optical fibers with the diameter of a human hair can be used as powerful imaging devices in deep-seated regions of the body. These ultra-minimally invasive instruments are initially intended to accelerate neuroscientific and biomedical research and, in particular, contribute to the understanding of ageing processes, degenerative changes and neuroplasticity. “Our advanced imaging technology should help researchers to develop new therapeutic strategies for neuronal disorders,” explains laser physicist Sergey Turtaev, CEO and co-founder of DeepEn. “In the long term, once further technical hurdles have been overcome, these hair-thin endoscopes could shape a new generation of clinical devices.”

The basis for the development is the internationally leading research work of the holographic endoscopy group headed by Prof Tomáš Čižmár at Leibniz IPHT: In cooperation with the medical faculty of Charles University in Prague, the Institute of Scientific Instruments of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Brno, the Leibniz Institute of Neurobiology and the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases in Magdeburg, the DeepEn team developed the prototype of a high-resolution holographic endoscope.

DeepEn will initially primarily market its NeuroDeep laboratory system, which is aimed at private and public laboratories. DeepEn also offers matching disposable endoscopy probes for use in living tissue as well as customer-related services and training.

DeepEn has already received funding via EXIST research transfer from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection and was founded as a GmbH in January 2024. In spring 2025, the start-up successfully completed a seed investment round worth millions.