Previously-stealthy cardiac imaging developer VerAvanti said today it raised $5 million in a recent round of financing to support its Scanning Fiber Endoscope device development.
The Redmond, Wash.-based company’s SFE device uses technology licensed from the University of Washington and consists of an imaging station and micro-sized catheter which can take high-quality images inside of vessels to improve the diagnosis and treatment of stroke and other heart conditions.
VerAvanti said that it has received 2 NIH research Phase 1 grants totaling $586,000 in May and June, alongside support from the company’s founder Gerald McMorrow. The grant funding will support the company’s research, product development and hiding as it aims for a 2018 market launch, pending on receiving FDA 510(k) clearance.
“Because of gaps in current technology, many of these strokes are left untreated. We hope to use the SFE to bring physicians inside hidden parts of artery vessels. The laser-based scanning fiber endoscope includes a micro-small catheter and camera with an extreme depth of focus, providing a new way to see, understand and hopefully treat the hidden, underlying causes of stroke and coronary events, with the goal of saving countless patient lives who today do not have these treatment options,” founder & CEO McMorrow said in a press release.