Phantom GI, a Tel Aviv-based medical startup, launched out of stealth last week, with a $5 million seed round led by Pitango Healthcare, with participation from RAD Biomed and RUNI Ventures. The funding will support the development and first phase of U.S. clinical studies of PercStoma, a minimally invasive alternative to traditional ostomy surgery. The device would target patients with bowel obstructions who might otherwise be considered ineligible for surgery. The company plans to use the funds to further develop its PercStoma device – it’s currently conducting a pre-clinical study and is planning clinical cases for early 2027 for an eventual regulatory submission.
Phantom GI says its technology could offer a new treatment option for up to 55,000 U.S. patients annually who are too ill to undergo traditional ostomy surgery. The company estimates that up to 300,000 U.S. patients per year require ostomy surgery, so that market could broaden if the technology is successful in meeting this unmet need.
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“Inoperable patients with a bowel obstruction currently have no treatment options and are often palliated for their remaining days without the ability to eat,” explained Ido Sadan, Phantom GI’s CEO and cofounder. “PercStoma will be the first real treatment option in this patient population, allowing them to eat, potentially extending their lives and reducing morbidity.”
Even for patients for whom traditional surgery is an option, a percutaneous stoma could become the preferred choice, since standard ostomy surgery requires general anesthesia and an involved procedure. The PercStoma device can be used without the need for anesthetic, and the company claims the procedure can be completed in 20 minutes.
Reversing the ostomy once it is no longer needed would typically require another operation, but according to its website, Phantom GI is developing a reversal process that it says could take only two minutes.
According to Sadan, the PercStoma kit enables a certified physician to create a colostomy or ileostomy under image guidance in three steps. First, the physician reviews the patient’s CT imaging and selects an appropriate bowel loop for access. Next, the bowel loop is accessed using Phantom GI’s patent-pending needle, which is preloaded with a fixation device. The fixation device is then deployed under fluoroscopy, which approximates the bowel loop with the abdominal wall. Finally, a proprietary stent is delivered into the bowel. It’s deployed in steps – first in the bowel, then onto the skin surface, creating a fluid sealed conduit. A standard stoma bag can be used atop the new stoma.
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The concept was inspired by the case of a young female patient with a bowel obstruction from advanced malignancy. Eran Shlomovitz, Phantom GI’s chief medical officer, was able to treat her using existing medical devices and imaging guidance to create a percutaneous stoma.
Sadan believes that minimally invasive devices could reshape the future of ostomy surgery, offering reduced risk, rehab duration, and costs, but safety and efficacy must first be established. For patients facing similarly dire circumstances as the patient whose case inspired its development, PercStoma could offer new potential.
Photo: TAW4, Getty Images