Cala Health Secures $18 Million in Funding to Advance Wearable Tremor Therapy

According to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Cala Health, a stealth startup emerging from Stanford University, has completed an $18 million financing round. MedCity News reported that Johnson & Johnson, Lux Capital, and Lightstone Ventures all participated in the funding.

Cala Health did not directly respond to the news of this financing, but SEC filings revealed that the company was previously named Resido Medical and had won multiple competitions as early as 2013 with its wearable device for treating hand or wrist tremors. At that time, the device was already being used in clinical treatment.

Although it was not reported during the competition how this technology works, some have pointed out that the device, which is designed in a watch-like style, helps treat tremors through an implanted brain sensor. Others have stated that while treating essential tremor, it does not interfere with users’ daily lives.

A 2014 patent application indicates that the device uses electrical pulses to stimulate nerves.

The document states, “The present invention is a novel peripheral stimulation device that transmits signals along the sensory nervous system to modulate abnormal reticular dynamics,” and “Over time, this stimulation normalizes neuronal firing within the abnormal reticular formation and reduces tremor.”

The company also owns the Cala Wave trademark, which is said to monitor the physical movements of patients wearing or carrying the device through a portable instrument equipped with sensors. Once the product is commercialized, the name “Wave” will no longer be used.

Interestingly, CEO Kate Rosenbluth has recently filed additional patent applications—more than two—and these patents are not for essential tremor, but for sleep apnea syndrome. These patents may or may not be related to Cala Health.

By | Jonah Comstock