Vixiar Medical Secures $1.5M Funding to Advance Non-Invasive Cardiopulmonary Monitoring Device

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that medical device company Vixiar Medical recently completed a $1.5 million financing round. Participating institutions in this round included Emerald Development Managers, MMG Opportunities, and TEDCO.

The funds from this round of financing will be used for the company’s flagship product, Vixiar Indicor, to support ongoing clinical trials and secure FDA clearance. According to officially disclosed data, from June 1, 2015, to February 20, 2018, the company completed three rounds of financing, raising a total of over $3.1 million. Following this round, the company’s cumulative fundraising will reach $4.6 million.

Vixiar Medical, founded in 2014 and headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland, with a manufacturing facility in Indiana, is a medical device company focused on digital health. The company is dedicated to developing non-invasive devices and systems for monitoring cardiopulmonary diseases, aiming to reduce the financial burden on patients and improve clinical workflows.

There are 26 million heart failure patients worldwide. Due to the lack of effective monitoring devices, 50% of these patients are readmitted within six months after discharge. However, current hospital monitoring tools are prohibitively expensive and require invasive procedures, limiting their use outside clinical settings. Although numerous digital health companies are dedicated to cardiac detection, most focus primarily on heart rate monitoring. It is widely accepted in the medical community that real-time home monitoring for heart failure patients can significantly reduce hospital readmissions.

Vixiar’s Indicor has promptly capitalized on this market opportunity. Since the increase in ventricular pressure occurs earlier than other physiological signs, such as changes in impedance, the device operates by monitoring changes in left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP). The system comprises a tablet, a pulse oximeter, and a handheld device equipped with a disposable mouthpiece. An application on the tablet guides patients through the Valsalva maneuver (i.e., forced exhalation against a closed glottis to induce changes in pulse pressure) and then displays the measurements from the pulse oximeter and the handheld device on the screen. By integrating specialized diagnostic algorithms with a HIPAA-compliant communication platform, the device holds promise as an effective real-time monitoring tool for heart failure patients after hospital discharge.

Vixiar CEO Kevin Thibodeau stated, “We are delighted to welcome a new round of financing. Heart failure is a global issue, and our technology provides a rapid, non-invasive, and efficient device that enables real-time monitoring for patients after discharge.”

Emerald Development Managers is an investment firm based in New York, USA, specializing in equity investments in early-stage growth companies.

TEDCO, established in 1998 and headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, was created by the Maryland General Assembly to facilitate the transfer and commercialization of technologies from Maryland’s research universities and federal laboratories to the marketplace, and to assist in the creation and growth of technology-based businesses across all regions of the state.

(Editor: Yang Shiying)