The CardioFlux Mapping System was created by the Genetesis team.
Nontraumatic chest pain is the second largest reason for emergency room visits, spurring roughly 8 million people to go to a hospital’s ER each year, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cited in a study published in JAMA. In a bid to do a better job of spotting underlying cardiac disorders earlier and triaging them, Cincinnati-based medical device startup Genetesis has developed a 3D mapping tool for clinical decision support. This week, the company closed a $1.2 million seed-stage round.
CincyTech and Mark Cuban’s venture capital firm, Radical Investments, co-led the round with participation from LOUD Capital, Danmar Capital, Wilson Sonsini Investment Company, Genetesis’ management team and angel investors. Cuban owns the Dallas Mavericks basketball team and is one of the sharks on Shark Tank.
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In a phone interview with MedCity News, 20-year-old Genetesis CEO Peeyush Shrivastava said the business would use the funding to scale its business, make key hires across device and software engineering, launch clinical studies and eventually, submit and application to the FDA for 510(k) clearance.
Although the current standard of testing patients with chest pain involves using electrocardiograms to provide a snapshot of heart rate and rhythm, Shrivastava said there’s a downside to this technology. An ECG only offers a snapshot; it doesn’t necessarily capture a patient’s underlying problems that exist when the patient is not experiencing symptoms.
The device takes a non-invasive approach and doesn’t touch the skin. CardioFlux uses sensors that fit into a grid on the arm of the device and analyze electromagnetic signals emitted by the heart. This data is processed using algorithms to reconstruct the underlying electrical activity of the heart.
Asked how the two-year-old company managed to attract Cuban, Shrivastava said he sent an email pitching his company but kept it “short and simple”. Although Cuban started as an adviser to the company, over time as he became more acquainted with the business and its technology, he decided to invest, Shrivastava said.
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Cuban said in the news release: “The Genetesis technology opens broad new commercial markets for what has, for decades, been primarily a research tool.”
Shrivastava said his approach involves setting up a platform that can be used for multiple purposes. Although the initial indication will be to triage ER patients and identify the most urgent cases cost-effectively, he envisions applications for cardiologists to detect more complex disorders such as ventricular tachycardia, left atrial flutter and atrial fibrillation.
This week, Genetesis presented findings from data collected with Mayo Clinic at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions. Shrivastava noted in an email:
“Our current density mapping method showed significant improvement in sensitivity to myocardial ischemia in patients with high-risk chest pain, when compared to existing diagnostics/tests available in the ER. This method is also uniquely noninvasive, and more time-efficient compared to those same available tests.”
Photo: Bruce Crippen Photography LLC/Genetesis
