Startup that converts MRIs into 3D assessments raises $3M from private equity, pro sports franchise
A startup company that converts MRIs into 3D muscle assessments has raised $3 million in new seed funds, with investment firm Transition Equity Partners contributing the largest share.
The Chicago Blackhawks professional hockey club also pitched in, among others, Springbok Analytics announced Tuesday. Just recently, the Charlottesville, Virginia, company also was recognized as part of the National Basketball Association’s Launchpad program, aimed at piloting emerging technologies that advance the league’s health-related goals.
“This investment allows us to further develop our technology to help improve precision health across human performance, longevity and life sciences,” Springbok CEO and Co-founder Scott Magargee said in an announcement. “We are focused on building out our 3D muscle analysis capabilities to become the standard of care for injury management, performance and clinical research, a mission that this investor group fully supports.”
Springbok’s technology utilizes artificial intelligence and the accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging to turn traditional 2D scans into “precise” muscle assessments. One of its scans takes less than 15 minutes and “unlocks a new way to view and quantify muscle volume, asymmetries and atrophy, as well as soft tissue injuries and scar tissue.”
The company’s technology is currently supporting “important” research on a range of musculoskeletal and neuromuscular conditions. And Springbok also has relationships with specialists across Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the NBA and the National Hockey League.
“We are eager to help Springbok in their pursuit of improving quality of life for all, including our players and prospects,” Matt Gray, VP of strategy and analytics with the Chicago Blackhawks, said in the announcement. “The insights generated from this never-before-seen musculoskeletal data could change the game for personalized injury management, performance optimization, and the treatment of injuries and training strategies in hockey and beyond.”
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.