EU-Funded Q-AID Project Deploys First POLARIS Systems for Quantum-Enhanced MRI Network

EU-Funded Q-AID Project Deploys First POLARIS Systems for Quantum-Enhanced MRI Network

• New POLARIS systems, NVisions quantum-enhanced metabolic MRI platform, implemented at IBEC in Barcelona and the University of Antwerp
• First major deployment milestone in the €8.3 million European initiative building a shared platform for quantum-enhanced metabolic imaging

Ulm, Germany / Barcelona, Spain /Antwerp, Netherlands September 28, 2026 - NVision Quantum Technologies, a quantum technology company, today announced, that the EU-funded Q-AID project has deployed its first two quantum-enhanced MRI systems at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) in Barcelona and the University of Antwerp, marking the four-year initiative’s transition from planning into physical implementation. NVision coordinates the Q-AID consortium and supplies the POLARIS systems, while also leading key elements required to operate the technology across multiple European sites, including the development of a European supply chain for parahydrogen and sterile consumables as well as supporting software and infrastructure.
The two preclinical POLARIS systems are the first installations in a European network designed to connect research sites through common technology, workflows, data infrastructure and operating standards.
Quantum-enhanced MRI enables visualization of metabolic processes that are challenging to detect with conventional MRI, opening new opportunities to understand disease activity and monitor treatment response. However, advancing this technology from promising results in individual laboratories toward larger multi-center studies and, ultimately, clinical applications requires more than standalone systems. Researchers must be able to produce imaging agents consistently, operate the technology across different institutions and generate data that can be meaningfully compared between sites.

Q-AID is building that foundation on a European scale. Coordinated by NVision Quantum Technologies, the €8.3 million Digital Europe Programme project brings together partners across seven countries to develop a shared platform spanning quantum-enhanced MRI systems, standardized workflows, AI-supported data analysis and a European supply chain for critical materials and consumables. The approach closely aligns with the EU’s Quantum Europe Strategy and its focus on translating Europe’s scientific strength in quantum technologies into deployed infrastructure, industrial capability and real-world applications.

“Europe has a strong foundation in quantum research, and the next step is to translate that scientific excellence into technologies and capabilities that can be deployed in real-world settings,” said Oscar Diez, Deputy Head of Unit for Quantum Technologies at the European Commission. “Q-AID is a good example of this transition, bringing quantum-enhanced imaging into research environments across Europe and connecting expertise and infrastructure across borders.”

The Barcelona and Antwerp installations are the first two of four POLARIS deployments planned through Q-AID. They will establish the project’s preclinical research network, allowing researchers to use the same underlying platform across different institutions and disease areas while developing and testing common methods.

Later deployments at CEA/NeuroSpin in France and Policlinico Gemelli in Italy will extend the network into clinical research. Together, the four sites are intended to connect preclinical development with future clinical validation in areas including oncology and neurology.

“This is about more than installing individual systems. Q-AID is building the technical, scientific and operational foundation for a new generation of quantum-enhanced MRI, connecting research sites, shared infrastructure and expertise to enable large-scale, multi-center studies across cancer and neurological diseases,” said Prof. Myriam Chaumeil, Head of Research at NVision. “By linking preclinical discovery with clinical translation, Q-AID will accelerate the development and validation of metabolic imaging biomarkers and establish the capabilities needed to bring quantum-enhanced MRI into routine clinical research and, ultimately, patient care.”

At IBEC, the new POLARIS system builds on the institute’s existing expertise in hyperpolarized imaging and expands its ability to investigate metabolism in real time. Research within Q-AID will include applications in ovarian cancer as well as the development of cancer-on-chip models, where metabolic imaging could provide new insight into disease biology and treatment response.
“Hyperpolarized MRI gives us a very early window into how disease metabolic changes and responds to treatment, sometimes before those changes are visible with more conventional biomarkers,” said Dr. Irene Marco-Rius, Group Leader of the Molecular Imaging for Precision Medicine group at IBEC, who has been building this capability since she established the group in 2021. “POLARIS will make this generation of hyperpolarized substrates faster and more accessible, while empowering new researchers to work with this technique. Within Q-AID, we will study glioblastoma and ovarian cancer, where differences in tumor metabolism could provide important insights into disease progression and treatment response.”

At the University of Antwerp, POLARIS introduces a new hyperpolarized MRI capability to the institution’s Bio-Imaging Lab. Researchers plan to apply the technology across neurological disease models, including Alzheimer’s disease, glioblastoma and multiple sclerosis, with a particular focus on understanding metabolism and therapeutic response.

“At the Bio-Imaging Lab, we are very excited to integrate this new hyperpolarized MRI technology into our research infrastructure. It will significantly deepen our understanding of how early metabolic alterations drive neurological disorders and play a central role in developing new imaging biomarkers to evaluate the efficacy of emerging therapeutic strategies. Combined with our established expertise in advanced preclinical MRI, hyperpolarized MRI will broaden our imaging capabilities at the University of Antwerp to study metabolism in relation to structure and function, “said Daniele Bertoglio, Assistant Professor at University of Antwerp.

The different scientific programs at IBEC and Antwerp are an important part of the project. By applying the same quantum-enhanced imaging platform across distinct research environments and disease areas, Q-AID can begin testing how the technology performs across institutions rather than optimizing it for a single laboratory.

The deployments therefore mark more than the arrival of two new research systems. They are the first physical step toward Q-AID’s broader goal: a European platform where quantum-enhanced metabolic imaging can be developed, compared and ultimately validated across borders.

About NVision Quantum Technologies

NVision is a quantum technology company focused on healthcare, with deep expertise in engineering and controlling the quantum properties of organic molecules. This approach underpins both its POLARIS platform, which enables real-time measurement of metabolism on standard MRI systems, and its quantum computing platform, Photonic Integrated Quantum Circuits (PIQC, pronounced “Pixie”). Together, these capabilities are helping bridge the gap between understanding disease and delivering effective therapies. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Ulm, Germany, NVision is backed by Playground Global, Entrée Capital, Matterwave/b2venture, Lauder Partners, Pathena Investments, The European Investment Bank and others. Learn more at nvision-quantum.com. 

About Q-AID

Q-AID, Quantum-enhanced and AI-powered metabolic MRI Diagnostics, is a four-year, €8.3 million project funded through the European Union’s Digital Europe Programme and running from April 2025 through March 2029.
Coordinated by NVision Quantum Technologies, the project brings together partners across seven European countries to combine quantum-enhanced metabolic MRI with artificial intelligence and shared research infrastructure. Q-AID spans preclinical research, future clinical validation, data and software development, and the supply chains required to support broader adoption of hyperpolarized MRI across Europe.