Waters acquires REIMS technology

Milford, MA – Waters Corporation says it has acquired rapid evaporative ionization mass spectrometry (REIMS) technology from MediMass. The REIMS technology represents substantially all of the assets of MediMass and includes patent applications, software, databases and REIMS expertise.

“While showing promise across many applications, REIMS technology significantly strengthens Waters’ technology position within health sciences,” said Rohit Khanna, vice-president, worldwide marketing and informatics, Waters Division. “This technology acquisition along with our recent agreement with Prosolia, Inc. for the exclusive rights to desorption electrospray ionization technology in clinical applications are key components in our burgeoning heath sciences initiative. Both direct-from-sample ion source technologies are strategic discriminators as we look to grow the impact of mass spectrometry throughout the health sciences continuum.”

REIMS is the enabling technology for the Intelligent Knife or iKnife, a device in the conceptual stages of development that could potentially be used for real-time diagnostics in surgery. Waters says it is committed to exploring the viability of this application in accordance with all applicable regulatory requirements. To date, no regulatory approvals have been sought for the device.