A medical device startup to make EKGs more portable and easier to store in electronic health records has raised $1.9 million from 30 investors, according to a Form D filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The funds will be used to support pilot studies for its technology.
InvisionHeart is developing both the hardware component that takes the EKG and the software that turns the scan into a digital file.
When Investment Rhymes with Canada
Canada has a proud history of achievement in the areas of science and technology, and the field of biomanufacturing and life sciences is no exception.
Martin Companies led the Series A Round, according to The Nashville Post. The group includes TriStar Technology Ventures, Mountain Group Capital and NueCura.
Founded by Vanderbilt University cardiac anesthesiologist Susan Eagle, the company received a $100,000 investment from AOL Founder Steve Case as part of Google for Entrepreneurs demo day. Eagle has said that the device solves a current healthcare challenge by enabling clinicians and emergency responders to transfer EKG data to cardiologists in real time. It’s a critical issue when a patient suffering a heart attack arrives at an urgent care clinic in a remote area with no easy access to a cardiologist.
Invision Heart is developing two paths for its roll-out strategy, according to a presentation by CEO Josh Nickols. It is working with a national pharmacy chain to use its technology in primary care clinics and also plans to market its device to rural hospitals that lack internal specialists and frequently consult with cardiology specialists outside of their systems.
Several companies have developed devices to record and capture EKGs to help remotely monitor patients, such as AliveCor and AirStrip.
Nickols has said that devices that capture EKGs currently on the market tend to be “clunky” — either they’re too expensive for the rural hospital market the company is pursuing or they cannot be easily transmitted to a HIPAA-compliant, cloud-based platform.
He has projected that its device will generate $25 million in revenues by 2018.
The Nashville medical device startup participated in the Jumpstart Foundry program last year.
