New imaging-informatics player gets $4.5 million boost

A small imaging-informatics company just got a large infusion of cash to refine its forthcoming product line and speed its progress along the regulatory road.  

HealthMyne, based in Madison, Wis., announced March 10 that it has raised $4.5 million in Series A—or first significant round of—funding from a group of investors led by two firms also located in Madison, Venture Investors and 4490 Ventures, and backed by a number of angel investors.

In a news release, HealthMyne said its first product, set to launch later this year, will aid in the detection and diagnosis of lung nodules.

According to the release, HealthMyne’s novel search, analytics and imaging (SAI) software provides physicians with enhanced tumor-image manipulation. The technology incorporates EHR and image-repository search capabilities for diagnosing and treating similar cases.

HealthMyne launched in 2013 when a group of healthcare entrepreneurs banded together after their previous, separate efforts yielded successful start-ups such as TomoTherapy and UltraVisual/Emageon, according to the company’s website.

“Obviously, there is significant investment occurring in healthcare informatics, especially within the data analytics segment,” said Greg Robinson, managing director of 4490 Ventures. “However, what makes HealthMyne so exciting is their unique position and proven expertise relative to clinical imaging analysis.”

The investors’ interest was surely piqued by CMS’s issuance, in early February, of a final decision to cover screening for lung cancer with low-dose computed tomography (LDCT).  

Dave Pearson

Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.

Around the web

The patient, who was being cared for in the ICU, was not accompanied or monitored by nursing staff during his exam, despite being sedated.

The nuclear imaging isotope shortage of molybdenum-99 may be over now that the sidelined reactor is restarting. ASNC's president says PET and new SPECT technologies helped cardiac imaging labs better weather the storm.

CMS has more than doubled the CCTA payment rate from $175 to $357.13. The move, expected to have a significant impact on the utilization of cardiac CT, received immediate praise from imaging specialists.