IMASENIC ADVANCED IMAGING SL

Their core work

IMASENIC is a Barcelona-based SME that designs custom CMOS image sensors and specialized imaging systems for scientific and industrial applications. Their core work is semiconductor-level detector design — building the silicon chips that capture images inside high-end instruments, not the instruments themselves. Their most distinctive capability is adapting CMOS sensor architecture to the demanding requirements of electron microscopy, where standard camera technology fails due to radiation tolerance, pixel geometry, and readout speed constraints. They sit at the narrow intersection of semiconductor design and scientific instrumentation, making them a rare industrial partner for research-grade imaging projects.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their first H2020 project (ACHIEVE, starting 2017), IMASENIC contributed to general-purpose embedded and integrated vision systems — broad computer vision hardware without a domain-specific target. By 2021, with DeCEMIS, they had pivoted sharply toward scientific microscopy: cryo-electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and the structural biology and materials science communities that depend on them. The shift is from commodity vision hardware toward a highly specialized niche where CMOS sensors are not yet standard and where the barrier to entry is high.

IMASENIC is moving deeper into scientific instrumentation — specifically democratizing access to cryo-electron microscopy by replacing expensive proprietary detectors with custom CMOS solutions, a direction with strong pull from structural biology, pharma, and materials research communities.

How they like to work

IMASENIC has taken both coordinator and participant roles across their two projects, suggesting they are comfortable leading technical consortia when the core technology is their own. Their 13 partners across 10 countries on just two projects indicates they work in medium-to-large international consortia rather than tight bilateral arrangements. As a small SME leading DeCEMIS, they likely function as the technology provider and project driver while relying on academic and research institute partners for application validation and end-user access.

IMASENIC has built a network of 13 unique partners spread across 10 countries through only two projects, reflecting the international character of both embedded vision and electron microscopy research communities. Their European reach is genuine rather than concentrated in Spain.

What sets them apart

IMASENIC occupies a very specific industrial niche: they are one of the few European SMEs that designs CMOS image sensors tailored to electron microscopy instruments, a market dominated by a small number of large instrument manufacturers. For consortium builders in structural biology, cryo-EM facility upgrades, or materials characterization, they offer a rare combination of semiconductor design expertise and hands-on experience with scientific detector requirements. Their SME status also makes them an attractive partner for consortia needing an industrial actor with real commercialization intent rather than a research institute acting as a stand-in for industry.

Highlights from their portfolio

• DeCEMIS
  As coordinator of this €1.3M Innovation Action, IMASENIC led an effort to build a more accessible CMOS-based detector for cryo-electron microscopy — a technology with direct impact on structural biology and drug discovery research infrastructure.
• ACHIEVE
  Participation in this multi-partner embedded vision project (2017–2022) shows IMASENIC's earlier roots in general computer vision hardware and their ability to contribute sensor components to complex integrated systems.