Eko, a digital stethoscope developer which secured FDA clearance last year for DUO, a device used by patients to record heart sounds and do a remote EKG test from home, has closed a $5 million Series A round. The new funding will be used to build on its commercial team and to support clinical studies for valvular heart disease screening and heart failure monitoring with Eko.
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The study at University of California San Francisco will be led by Dr. John Chorba, an associate professor and cardiologist at the institution.
ARTIS Ventures led the Series A round. Other investors that took part included Strategic Partners, Dreamlt Ventures, 1812 Ventures, and FOUNDER.org.
Connor Landgraf, Eko’s co-founder and CEO said the funding would help the company integrate cardiac decision algorithms into its product to aid physicians in tracking their patients’ cardiac health. In addition to DUO, Eko also has an FDA-cleared device called CORE that is designed to convert physicians’ stethoscopes into digital devices. It transmits heart and lung sounds and integrates that data into electronic health records. A web-based dashboard helps clinicians to do patient monitoring and virtual consultations.
A handful of digital stethoscope developers have sought to develop devices that not only make it easier to store and share heart sounds but also are supported by companion products to analyze these readings to detect signs of a heart condition. Examples of some of these companies include M3DICINE, Rijuven, and TytoCare.