Imaging industry names in the news: Butterfly Network, iThera Medical, Novosound, PaxeraHealth
Noteworthy market developments listed in the order announcements were posted.
Imaging AI platform developer PaxeraHealth (Boston) has closed a series A funding round of undisclosed amount. The round was led by Sopris Capital, a venture capital firm based in Colorado that says it’s focused on technology-enabled healthcare solutions (Dec. 16). Paxera founder and CEO Mohamed Shoura, PhD: “Our goal is not to build yet another AI algorithm but to democratize AI in medical imaging and make it accessible, affordable and faster to deploy. [Our] industry-first ‘algorithm as a service’ platform is designed to enable healthcare facilities to create AI algorithms with no coding, using their own imaging datasets.”
Butterfly Network (Burlington, Mass.) has completed the first phase of its POCUS equipment donation and user training program in Kenya. The phase saw the company deliver 500 of its handheld IQ+ ultrasound devices and train 1,000 midlevel maternal-fetal practitioners to use them (Dec. 19). Sachita Shah, MD, Butterfly Network’s senior director of global health: “Maternal mortality from pregnancy and childbirth-related complications still occur at exceedingly high rates in Sub-Saharan Africa due to limited access to standard resources for maternal fetal care. Witnessing such interest and fast adoption of our advanced, digital device in these clinics has been inspirational.”
Israel-based TechsoMed has established a subsidiary R&D operation in Germany to further develop TechsoMed’s software for image-guided tumor ablation (Dec. 19). The company is partnering in the work with the applied research organization Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Medicine Mevis. TechsoMed CEO Yossi Abu: “This new strategic collaboration plays an important role in TechsoMed’s roadmap to transform ablation therapy into a precise, feedback-dependent treatment and create a true impact on patient care worldwide.”
Scottish ultrasound sensor maker Novosound (Glasgow) is partnering with medical device developer PAVmed (New York City) to advance intravascular imaging (Dec. 21). Novosound CEO and co-founder Dave Hughes: “PAVmed has a strong track record in delivering commercial stage medical technology across medical devices, diagnostics. and digital health.” PAVmed chairman and CEO Lishan Aklog, MD: “Novosound’s proprietary ultrasound technology has the potential to be a once-in-a-generation breakthrough in medical imaging. We are excited to partner with Novosound with the goal of revolutionizing the global intravascular imaging market.”
iThera Medical of Munich, Germany, has closed a financing round of 13 million euros (around $13.8 million) to fund translation of their flagship imaging technology from research settings into routine clinical use (Dec. 21). The technology, multispectral optoacoustic tomography (MSOT), converts light energy into sound waves so clinicians can visualize optical contrast at high resolution in deep tissue. Company CEO and co-founder Christian Wiest: “The proceeds from this funding round will be used to develop a next-generation MSOT device optimized for routine clinical use, to secure regulatory approval for deployment in Europe (CE mark) and the United States (FDA clearance) and to significantly expand clinical evidence in priority clinical indications.”
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.