Start-up iBeat raises $1.5m in seed round for heart monitor watch

August 3, 2016 By Fink Densford Leave a Comment

Early-stage heart monitor developer iBeat said yesterday it raised $1.5 million in an oversubscribed seed funding to support its heart-monitoring smartwatch.

The round was led by Maveron, Subtraction Capital and Correlation Ventures and joined by Band of Angels, industrial design firm Ammunition and other select individuals, the San Francisco, Calif.-based company said.

“The interest we’ve had in iBeat has been remarkable. We were oversubscribed for our seed funding and are thrilled to see such high caliber investors who also recognize the potential of this product. Cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death in the U.S., and 9 out of 10 people who have a cardiac arrest incident without intervention die. Our vision is to lower this number by bringing to market a beautiful and sleek smartwatch that will quicken the delivery of care and help save lives,” iBeat founder Ryan Howard said in a press release.

The company is building a “breakthrough” wearable that monitors and analyzes users heart activity around the clock. The smartwatch is designed to instantly alert the user or designated individuals in the event of an emergency, according to the company’s website.

“iBeat has the combination of a proven entrepreneur coupled with a massive consumer market that is primed for change. We’re incredibly excited about how their product can affect the lives of millions of people, and the potential to disrupt the multi-billion dollar PERS industry,” Maveron GP David Wu said in prepared remarks.

Funding from the round will support the recruiting of “high-profile talent,” to expand the company’s infrastructure and operations and to commercialize its heart-monitoring smartwatch.

“Ryan and the team he recruited from Practice Fusion had immense success building the largest patient physician platform in the U.S. iBeat is the kind of company we want to be part of — a visionary team bringing fresh ideas to an evolving technology that promises to save lives,” Band of Angels chair Ian Sobieski said in a prepared statement.

5 tips to raise funding for your medical device
Securing funding can be a long and tedious process, and medical device businesses must work to position themselves as especially attractive to potential investors to maximize success and accelerate the fundraising process. Jon Speer, Greenlight Guru According to Alejandro Cremades, author of The Art of Startup Fundraising, it can take from six to nine months… […]
FDA recognizes latest ISO 14971 as medical device consensus standard
By Mark Leimbeck and Stewart Eisenhart, Emergo Group The US Food and Drug Administration has granted Recognized Consensus Standard status to the third edition of the ISO 14071 risk management standard for medical devices and IVD products. Get the full story here at the Emergo Group’s blog. The opinions expressed in this blog post are… […]
Synaptive Medical updates Modus V surgical microscope
Synaptive Medical announced that its U.S. and Canadian Modus V robotic digital microscope now includes updates such as additional 3D visualization and voice-activated control. The Modus V is a robotically controlled digital microscope used as part of Synaptive’s BrightMatter surgical suite designed for less invasive, patient-specific approaches in complex cranial procedures. The Modus V provides similar… […]
New machine can preserve donor livers for 1 week
Researchers in Switzerland have built a perfusion machine that can preserve human livers for transplantation for a week or more, potentially slashing the number of donor livers that must be discarded due to time-related deterioration. Existing perfusion technology can preserve a donor liver for up to 24 hours. The team of surgeons, biologists and engineers… […]
Smiths Medical launches Portex tracheostomy tubes and kits
Smiths Medical this week launched its Portex polyvinyl chloride tracheostomy tube and kit portfolio. The new polyvinyl chloride (PVC) tube portfolio has options for a variety of patients, according to the company. “Our goal was to create tracheostomy tubes and kits designed to help clinicians provide the best patient care. We’re excited to offer a variety… […]
FDA clears Cleveland Clinic 3D-printed airway stents
The FDA recently cleared 3D-printed, patient-specific stents developed by a doctor at the Cleveland Clinic. Cleveland Clinic physician Tom Gildea developed the stents to keep open the airways of patients with serious breathing disorders caused by inflammation, trauma, tumors and other masses. Airway stents come in a limited number of sizes and shapes and are… […]
Boston Scientific shares drop on Q4 sales news
Shares in Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) dropped 8% this morning on news of disappointing fourth-quarter sales. The company’s preliminary earnings report showed sales for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2019 coming in at $2.9 billion, below the $2.91 billion that analysts were expecting. The unaudited sales figure represents organic growth of 7.3%, missing the company’s own guidance of… […]
Study: Timing for knee replacement surgeries is off
New research from Northwestern Medicine suggests that patients with knee osteoarthritis are having knee surgery at the wrong time. According to the researchers, 90% of patients who could benefit from knee replacement surgery are waiting too long to have it and 25% of patients who don’t need it are having it prematurely. “People are waiting… […]
TransEnterix wants to use more AI in surgical robotics: Here’s how
TransEnterix (NYSE:TRXC) has filed a 510(k) submission to add an artificial intelligence feature to its robot-assisted surgery system in which the system can automatically move the camera for a surgeon. Surgeons have been able to move the camera on TransEnterix’s Senhance System via eye sensing. But the new Intelligent Surgical Unit would allow a surgeon, for… […]
Diversified Plastics names Kieval to board
Diversified Plastics, a custom plastic-injection molder and digital thermoplastic components manufacturer, said today that it has appointed Robert Kieval to its board of directors. Kieval has more than 25 years of experience at all levels of the medtech industry. The CEO of IMMR, Inc., Kieval previously served as chief scientific and clinical officer at women’s… […]
Micro celebrates 75 years in business
Contract manufacturer Micro (Somerset, N.J.) this week announced its 75th anniversary in business. Founded in 1945 as Micro Stamping Corp. in Maplewood, N.J., the family-owned company specializes in precision medical components, sub-assemblies and complete devices for laparoscopic surgical procedures. Operations have expanded from 28,000-square feet to nearly 180,000-square feet, and the company recently dedicated an… […]