LymphaTech is an early-stage startup that has developed an innovative optical diagnostic to detect lymphedema, a side effect of breast cancer surgery, which affects nearly 50% of all breast cancer survivors. Lymphedema causes dramatic and irreversible arm swelling, subsequently leading to pain, depression, and reduced quality of life. There is currently no technology on the market that can detect the onset of lymphedema before permanent tissue damage has already occurred. Lymphatech’s diagnostic can detect lymphedema before symptoms begin, which will allow doctors to begin therapy and prevent permanent tissue damage, thus dramatically improving the standard of care for breast cancer survivors.

The startup company is based on technology developed in the lab of Brandon Dixon, an assistant professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering. The founder of the company is fourth-year Georgia Tech bioengineering PhD candidate, Mike Weiler. The company formed through the joint Emory-Georgia Tech TI:GER program (Technological Innovation: Generating Economic Results) which is a program that joins PhDs, MBAs, and JDs to commercialize university research technologies.