Israeli pain monitoring start-up Medasense Biometrics has raised $18m in a Series C round from Sabadell Asabys venture capital company, Israeli family offices and returning investors Baxter Ventures, Olive Tree Ventures and LGL Capital.
The company develops NOL technology for pain-response monitoring. Using multi-parametric sensor platform and advanced artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms, the technology converts complicated data into a patient’s ‘Signature of Pain’.
Medasense’s technology is now used in operating rooms and critical care settings, where patients are under anaesthesia and unable to communicate. It enables clinicians to personalise treatment, control pain and avoid an overdose.
The technology has also been implemented by the company in ventilated Covid-19 patients.
Medasense founder and CEO Galit Zuckerman-Stark said: “Together with our trusted investors, who share our passion to improve pain management, we expect to make a significant contribution to enhancing pain care.
“This funding round will allow us to expand and further consolidate commercial deployment of NOL technology in Europe through our distribution agreement with Medtronic and to complete the process of obtaining FDA approval for commercialisation in the US.”
According to the company, the studies found that NOL monitoring can potentially minimise hypotensive events and opioid consumption during surgery.
It was also shown to reduce postoperative pain experienced by patients in the post-anaesthesia care unit and cut down the cost of care.
Approximately 50% of surgical patients are estimated to suffer from moderate to severe postoperative pain, while 12% suffer adverse events due to pain relief medication. These may lead to extended hospitalisation, additional healthcare costs and a 50% increase in hospital readmissions.
Asabys Partners founding partner Josep Sanfeliu said: “Medasense is a model start-up, having successfully introduced a disruptive medical device technology to the market. Its artificial intelligence solution is impacting clinical outcomes to benefit patients and to enable better use of healthcare resources.”
In 2017, Medasense Biometrics obtained CE mark approval for its pain monitoring device PMD200 to aid clinicians in providing personalised pain relief.
