Avatar Medical, a startup that creates real-time patient avatars via CT and MR images, has raised $5.4 million, leaders announced.
French investment firm GO Capital led the seed funding round, with 15 radiologists and surgeons also contributing. The Paris-based company, which also has offices in Mountain View, California, believes such physician financing demonstrates “strong support” for its medical solution.
“From our very first meeting with Avatar Medical, we have been deeply impressed by the technology and its team. We are glad to back the company in its exciting journey,” Frédéric Le Brun, partner at GO Capital, said in a Feb. 19 announcement.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in summer 2023 cleared Avatar’s product, which can serve as an aid in preoperative planning or for use during interventional procedures. The 510(k) clearance followed four years of research in human interaction, with more than 100 physicians using the VR goggles across 20 different institutions, the company said at the time.
U.S.-based Acorn Pacific Ventures and Plug and Play also contributed seed funding, as did French firms Rives Croissance and Cenitz. Along with procedure planning, Avatar said the tech tool also is useful for patient consultations and teaching students in radiology and pathology.
CEO Xavier Wartelle said the money will help Avatar Medical launch its commercialization efforts and accelerate sales to medical schools in France and the U.S.
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.