Imagine four-dimensional (4D) imagery of the beating heart, viewed live, in 360°. Now add real-time tissue analysis to the same catheter to tell where tissue has been fully ablated in arrhythmia cases. That’s the promise behind OneProjects’ VERAFEYE™ 4D cardiac imaging technology, which has gained $17 million in new financing.
Background
Cardiac imaging has been a frequent returner to our pages over the years as can be seen from a quick search.
Atrial fibrillation (AFib) affects more than 38 million people globally. It is characterized by an irregular heartbeat caused by chaotic electrical signals entering and overriding the natural heart rhythm. As a result, AFib is one of the most frequent causes of strokes and other heart conditions. A principal treatment for AFib is catheter ablation to block unwanted signals. In up to 50 percent of cases, full ablation of the tissue is unsuccessful. This means a large percentage of patients need to undergo repeat procedures. Often this is characterized by a worsening condition that requires continued medical management.
OneProjects is a privately held, venture-backed medical device company based in Dublin, Ireland and Munich, Germany. The VERAFEYE™ 4D cardiac imaging platform is designed to improve the treatment of atrial fibrillation and other cardiac arrhythmias. It can also benefit structural heart procedures.
The company says it will use the funds to complete product development, conduct clinical trials, gain FDA clearance and prepare for U.S. commercialization. The newly confirmed Series A2 financing is an extension to the company’s 2020 Series A1 funding. The grants were awarded by the Irish government’s Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund ($6 million) and the EIC Accelerator ($3 million).
VERAFEYE™ imaging technology uses a proprietary catheter-based sensor combined with advanced imaging and machine learning. This provides unprecedented live 360-degree, high-resolution imagery of the beating heart, as well as real-time tissue analysis to determine where tissue has been fully ablated. The goal is to enable physicians to optimize outcomes and safety during catheter ablation procedures. By improving the procedural success rate, the technology has the potential to reduce overall costs to the healthcare system.
Company comments
“It’s no surprise that AFib success rates are sub-optimal given the complexity of the procedure and information currently available to physicians,” said OneProjects CEO Fionn Lahart.
“Our 4D imaging platform improves upon currently available imaging by providing high precision navigation, procedural planning pre-ablation, and expansive real-time imagery of the heart and tissue during the procedure. We believe that our proprietary cardiac imaging technology can help physicians deliver precision therapy and has value beyond AFib to improve any cardiac procedure that can benefit from precise navigation, detailed 4D anatomical imaging and tissue assessment within the heart.”
Source: OneProjects
published: October 18, 2021 in: Cardio, Company News, Financial, Imaging, Technology