Valorization

Valorisation is the process of translating scientific knowledge into tangible societal impact. In practice, it means converting fundamental discoveries into innovations that improve patient care, such as diagnostics or targeted therapies. 

Within our research group, we focus on developing a minimally invasive blood-based diagnostic for patients with angina and no obstructive coronary arteries (ANOCA), a condition that predominantly affects women and remains substantially underdiagnosed. 

At present, ANOCA can only be diagnosed through invasive coronary function testing, a complex and costly procedure that is often perceived as burdensome by patients and is therefore underutilized in clinical practice. Consequently, many female patients remain without a clear diagnosis for years, undergoing repeated hospital visits and receiving ineffective or non-specific treatments. 

Our goal is to shift this paradigm by developing a rapid, non-invasive, and scalable diagnostic test that identifies the underlying pathophysiology of disease.

This approach is designed to:

• Reduce time to diagnosis from up to 4 years to approximately 2 weeks  
• Decrease cumulative diagnostic costs from ~€35,000 to ~€500 per patient  
• Enable earlier, mechanism-based treatment and improve clinical outcomes  
• Address a major unmet need in women’s cardiovascular health  

By moving from anatomy-based to biology-driven diagnosis, this work aims to fundamentally improve the care pathway for patients with ANOCA.  

Funded by the European Research Council (ERC), Dutch CardioVascular Alliance (DCVA), EQT Foundation, Utrecht Holdings, NWO Faculty of Impact