CellTivity Scientific
CellTivity Scientific develops the Van Gogh Microscopy System, a real-time biopsy imaging device using proprietary Dynamic Cell Imaging (DCI) to visualize cellular metabolic activity in fresh tissue. It sells capital equipment to hospitals and healthcare systems, initially targeting interventional pulmonologists for lung cancer biopsy adequacy, with planned expansion into gastrointestinal and organ transplant diagnostics.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersWaltham, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What CellTivity Scientific does
CellTivity Scientific is a privately held medical device company headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, that develops the Van Gogh Microscopy System, a real-time biopsy imaging platform built on its proprietary Dynamic Cell Imaging (DCI) technology. DCI applies an advanced form of Michelson interferometry with phase contrast microscopy to capture residual intracellular motion in freshly excised tissue and overlay metabolic activity onto traditional morphology, producing an easy-to-interpret heat map and virtual HistoView visualization in roughly 102 seconds, to a depth of 150µm, without cutting or staining the sample. The company targets interventional pulmonologists, thoracic surgeons, and pathology departments at hospitals and healthcare systems, with an initial focus on lung cancer biopsy adequacy assessment (including robotic bronchoscopy workflows) and stated plans to extend into gastrointestinal diagnostics and organ transplant assessments.
CellTivity sells the Van Gogh system through a direct enterprise field-sales motion to US hospitals, supported by clinical validation studies, a Medical Advisory Board of key opinion leaders, and active presence at medical conferences (ATS, AABIP, CHEST, RAB). The system is FDA Class I registered (June 2024) and CE marked (December 2025), enabling distribution in both the United States and the European Union. Reported clinical performance includes 95% concordance with final pathology, 88% patient-level concordance in a 50-patient pilot, and a comparative study showing 98% DCI interpretation vs 54% for ROSE (p<0.001) in 94 robotic bronchoscopy cases, with DCI additionally detecting 12 malignancies missed by ROSE. Because the device is non-destructive, biopsy samples remain fully usable for downstream pathology and next-generation sequencing.
The company was founded in 2007 (under the legacy name Aquyre Biosciences, which it formally rebranded from in April 2025) and has raised approximately $25.8M across three disclosed rounds between 2021 and 2023, led by HealthTech Capital, plus an undisclosed round in April 2025. Leadership includes President and CEO Greg Bowles (formerly of Intuitive Surgical and FlexDex Surgical), Founder and Chief Strategy and Technology Officer Bertrand De Poly, Chief Operating Officer CJ Jiang, Chief Financial Officer Al Talavera, VP of Sales and Marketing Nicholas Mancini, and co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer Claude Boccara. Customers publicly disclosed include UPMC, UPMC Hamot, FirstHealth and Pinehurst Medical Clinic, John Muir Health, University of Chicago Medical Center, and Helen F. Graham Cancer Center, with the platform having been used in over 800 lung procedures and 4,000+ biopsies during its beta period.
CellTivity Scientific firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- CellTivity Scientific
- Legal name
- CellTivity Scientific, Inc.
- Website
- https://celltivity.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- CellTivity Scientific develops the Van Gogh Microscopy System, a real-time biopsy imaging device using proprietary Dynamic Cell Imaging (DCI) to visualize cellular metabolic activity in fresh tissue. It sells capital equipment to hospitals and healthcare systems, initially targeting interventional pulmonologists for lung cancer biopsy adequacy, with planned expansion into gastrointestinal and organ transplant diagnostics.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
CellTivity Scientific industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Medical Diagnostic Imaging Equipment
- NAICS
- Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516)
- SIC
- Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Microscopy, Imaging & Flow Cytometry Instruments (HLAGAIAE)
Keywords
Where CellTivity Scientific is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Waltham
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
CellTivity Scientific business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Van Gogh Microscopy System Sales: Capital equipment sales of the Van Gogh microscopy system to hospitals and healthcare systems for biopsy adequacy assessment. System provides real-time metabolic imaging for cancer diagnostics.
- Diagnostic Services Technology: Technology enables proceduralists to make faster, more accurate diagnostic decisions during procedures. Revenue derived from system sales with potential for service contracts and consumables.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Enterprise healthcare system pricing |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels7 records
CellTivity Scientific product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CellTivity Scientific develops and sells the Van Gogh Microscopy System, an FDA Class I in-vitro diagnostic medical device that uses proprietary Dynamic Cell Imaging (DCI) technology with advanced Michelson interferometry to capture and quantify cellular metabolic activity in biopsy samples. The system provides real-time, two-minute point-of-care metabolic imaging for cancer diagnostics, enabling proceduralists to assess biopsy adequacy without cutting or staining tissue.
Product overview
CellTivity Scientific offers the Van Gogh™ Microscopy System as its primary product platform, a real-time metabolic cellular imaging system for cancer diagnostics. The system uses proprietary Dynamic Cell Imaging (DCI) technology to quantify intracellular and metabolic activity throughout extracted tissue, presenting results as an easy-to-interpret 'heat map' that displays contrast and clarity at the micron level. The platform provides multiple viewing modes including DCI View and HistoView, with virtual slices capable of seeing up to 150µ depth. As an FDA Class I registered in-vitro diagnostic device with CE marking, the Van Gogh system enables proceduralists to assess biopsy adequacy in real-time without cutting or staining, preserving sample integrity for downstream pathology and next-generation sequencing.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Van Gogh: The Van Gogh Microscopy System is a proprietary microscopic imaging system that digitally highlights cells exhibiting elevated metabolic activity. It uses Dynamic Cell Imaging (DCI) technology to provide real-time metabolic assessment of biopsy samples.
- Dynamic Cell Imaging (DCI)
- HistoView
Products and services
- Van Gogh Microscopy System FDA Class I in-vitro diagnostic medical device that uses Dynamic Cell Imaging (DCI) technology to produce real-time metabolic heat maps of biopsy samples. The specialized phase contrast microscope employs advanced Michelson interferometry to capture and quantify cellular metabolic activity, overlaying it onto traditional morphological assessment to identify suspicious cellular activity and improve biopsy adequacy assessment. Designed for hospitals and healthcare systems performing interventional pulmonology and biopsy procedures.
Quantifiable outcome
- 95% concordance with final pathology
- +7 more outcomes
Companies that use CellTivity Scientific
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
CellTivity Scientific technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability4 records
Feature5 records
CellTivity Scientific partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Noah MedicalcoreCellTivity and Noah Medical partnered to host Dr. Stephen Kovacs at ATS events where he discussed building a robotic bronchoscopy program and the value Van Gogh brings to his practice. The partnership combines robotic bronchoscopy technology with real-time biopsy evaluation.
Scale indicators12 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
CellTivity Scientific competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Paige.AI: AI-native digital pathology company with FDA-cleared cancer detection algorithms running on standard H&E slides. Comparable as an emerging platform pursuing regulatory clearance to deliver diagnostic-adjacent reads from existing pathology workflows, posing a software-only substitution risk to Van Gogh.
- Akoya Biosciences: Developer of spatial biology and multiplex tissue imaging platforms (Phenochart, CODEX) used in tumor biology and pathology research. Comparable as an emerging player advancing tissue-level imaging analytics that could overlap with CellTivity's biopsy visualization use cases.
- Ibex Medical Analytics: AI pathology company deploying cancer detection and grading algorithms in clinical workflows across multiple tissue types. Comparable as an emerging player expanding into the same hospital pathology decision points CellTivity aims to inform pre-pathology.
Broad incumbents
- Intuitive Surgical: Maker of the da Vinci surgical system and Ion robotic bronchoscopy platform. CellTivity's CEO previously led capital sales for da Vinci, and Ion creates parallel demand for real-time biopsy adequacy tools, making Intuitive both a strategic customer channel and a broader procedural incumbent.
- Olympus Corporation: Global leader in endoscopy and bronchoscopy equipment with growing cellular imaging and digital pathology capabilities. Comparable as a broad incumbent whose installed endoscopy base represents both an opportunity for Van Gogh integration and a competitive threat via in-house imaging R&D.
- Philips (Digital Pathology): Sells the IntelliSite Digital Pathology Solution and broader pathology workflow suite to hospitals. Comparable as a broad incumbent offering an end-to-end imaging and diagnostic workflow that could absorb or substitute adjunct biopsy assessment tools.
- Leica Biosystems: Provider of Aperio digital pathology scanners and laboratory staining instruments used in hospital pathology workflows. Comparable as a broad incumbent serving the same pathology decision-makers that ultimately consume Van Gogh biopsy adequacy outputs.
- Roche (Ventana Digital Pathology): Ventana portfolio includes digital pathology scanners and companion diagnostic assays used alongside biopsy workflows. Comparable as a broad incumbent whose diagnostic franchise could bundle complementary imaging modalities into enterprise contracts.
Others
- Noah Medical: Developer of the Galaxy robotic bronchoscopy system and an active GTM partner with CellTivity, co-hosting KOL events at ATS. Listed here as an ecosystem partner because the platforms are designed to work together rather than compete head-to-head.
Direct peers
- Mauna Kea Technologies: Developer of Cellvizio, a probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy platform providing real-time in vivo and ex vivo cellular imaging during endoscopic and bronchoscopic procedures. Directly comparable as a real-time procedural cellular imaging company competing for the same biopsy adequacy workflow.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
CellTivity Scientific social profiles
Digital presenceCellTivity Scientific compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
CellTivity Scientific financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
CellTivity Scientific leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
CellTivity Scientific funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
CellTivity Scientific M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about CellTivity Scientific
What does CellTivity Scientific do?
CellTivity Scientific develops and sells the Van Gogh Microscopy System, an FDA Class I in-vitro diagnostic medical device that uses proprietary Dynamic Cell Imaging (DCI) technology with advanced Michelson interferometry to capture and quantify cellular metabolic activity in biopsy samples. The system provides real-time, two-minute point-of-care metabolic imaging for cancer diagnostics, enabling proceduralists to assess biopsy adequacy without cutting or staining tissue.
Is CellTivity Scientific a public or private company?
CellTivity Scientific is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was CellTivity Scientific founded?
CellTivity Scientific was founded in 2021. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is CellTivity Scientific based?
CellTivity Scientific is headquartered in Waltham, United States, in the North America region.
How does CellTivity Scientific make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Van Gogh Microscopy System Sales are the primary driver. The others are diagnostic Services Technology.
Who are CellTivity Scientific's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Paige.AI, Akoya Biosciences and Ibex Medical Analytics. Broad incumbents are Intuitive Surgical, Olympus Corporation, Philips (Digital Pathology), Leica Biosystems and Roche (Ventana Digital Pathology). Noah Medical is listed as an others. Mauna Kea Technologies is listed as a direct peer.
Does CellTivity Scientific have an API?
No public API is recorded for CellTivity Scientific.
What industry is CellTivity Scientific in?
CellTivity Scientific's product category is Medical Diagnostic Imaging Equipment. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAGAIAE, Microscopy, Imaging & Flow Cytometry Instruments. Its NAICS code is 334516 and its SIC code is 3826.