A medical technology startup has raised fresh capital after securing regulatory approval to expand its patient-monitoring device to monitor oxygen levels in patients following surgery.
EarlySense raised $15 million in a series E financing round. The investment will be used in part to help market a new oxygen saturation component for its two-year-old patient-monitoring system. The additional tool, cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last month, gives hospitals the ability to continuously monitor patient’s oxygen levels automatically. The monitor also tracks patient vital signs and movement, according to a company statement. The new version of the monitoring device is to be launched next year.
The oximetry tool is intended for patients coming out of surgery who require a higher level of supervision. It coincides with a recent recommendation by the Joint Commission to improve oxygenation and ventilation monitoring for postsurgical patients. One ongoing concern is that within the first 24 to 72 hours following surgery, anesthesia given to patients during surgery and the opioids administered as they recover can impact breathing and consequently the oxygen levels in the blood. It increases the risk of respiratory depression. The Joint Commission has recommended that these patients be monitored continuously rather than spot-checked every four hours.
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The Israeli company, which has U.S. headquarters in Waltham, Massachusetts, developed the device to monitor patients’ vital signs. It also tracks movement to prevent falls, and bed sores that can make the patient vulnerable to hospital-acquired infections and drive up hospitalization costs. Pitango Venture Capital led the financing round. Among the existing investors participating in the round were JK&B Capital, ProSeed VC Fund, Docor International Management and Bridge Investment Fund.
Other companies have been looking at postsurgical respiratory depression, including Galleon Pharmaceuticals.
