Research Triangle Park, NC - May 1, 2004 - Centice Corporation, a developer of computational "smart" sensors, has been awarded first place in the Duke Startup Challenge 2004, an annual business competition held at the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University. As the winner in the Commercial Enterprise competition, Centice will receive $50,000 in seed funding. Previously operating under the name "Optopo", the Company also won the competition's People's Choice Award.

Centice's computational sensor technology, originally developed at Duke University's Fitzpatrick Center for Photonics and Communications Systems, will help to drive the creation of a new class of analytical instruments, biochemical sensors, imaging products, and security devices that will exhibit dramatic improvement in performance over products based on conventional sensor technology.

The Power of Computational Sensing

Computational sensors are designed around an end purpose and intimately combine sensing with signal processing in a unified and inseparable way.

This patent-pending technology results in purpose-built sensors that are highly optimized for their intended use. Performance advantages can include higher resolution, sensitivity, selectivity, specificity and speed-all delivered in low cost, very compact sizes.

One of the first products under development by Centice is a computational biochemical sensor which can be used for Life Science research, including drug development. This device, based on Centice's Multimodal Multiplex Raman Spectroscopy sensor, is so sensitive that it can capture the extremely weak Raman signal (like the molecular fingerprints) of a substance in real time at ultra-high resolution, yet it's no larger than a coffee can and a fraction of the cost of Raman spectrometers based on conventional sensor technology.

About Centice
Centice, founded in 2004, is commercializing a patent-pending computational sensor technology originally developed at Duke University. Centice leverages this technology with its expertise in instrument design to produce a portfolio of high sensitivity optical sensing modules for the analytical, life sciences, medical and pharmaceutical industries. More information on Centice can be found at http://www.centice.com.

Company Contact

Director of Business Development
Phone: (919) 405-4264