Investors bet big on startup offering a ‘radiology department in a box’
Investors are betting big on a startup company offering a “radiology department in a box.”
OXOS Medical announced Wednesday that it has raised $23 million in additional contributions, with investment firms Parkway Venture and Intel Capital leading the way. The money balloons its fundraising total to $45 million, which will help OXOS to expand the global availability of its product.
“We believe OXOS will have the same transformational impact on radiology as the iPhone had on mobile computing,” Gregg Hill, Parkway Venture Capital managing partner, said in a statement. “Their unique 3D imaging technology, coupled with computer vision and artificial intelligence, makes OXOS devices easy to use.”
Orthopedic surgeon Greg Kolovich, MD, and entrepreneur Evan Ruff first founded the company in 2016. Based in Atlanta, OXOS Medical offers a handheld digital radiographic system (cleared by the FDA in early 2021), “making X-ray available anywhere it is needed.” The company said its customers include orthopedic providers spanning the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, urgent care clinics, NFL teams and medical educators, along with imaging centers and bio labs, among others.
OXOS Medical is working closely with radiologist Beth Ripley, MD, PhD, who is deputy chief in the VA’s Office of Healthcare Innovation and Learning. They’re chasing the goal of pushing radiology services into the community, according to the announcement.
“VA Ventures is invested in exploring how we can move care outside of the hospital walls,” Ripley said. “Our goal is to shift care from urban centers to VA’s 1,074 community-based outpatient centers, providing the soonest and best care to veterans.”
Demand for radiology services continues to rise, OXOS Medical noted, but is complicated by shortages of physicians and technologists. The company claims its technology will help to address “hospital driven bottlenecks” by deploying imaging technology in the hands of providers with varying levels of training.
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.