SurgiQuest Inc. drummed up $14.5 million in new backing from 11 un-named investors, according to a regulatory filing.
The Orange, Conn.-based device maker is developing technology for laparoscopic procedures that’s designed remove electrosurgical smoke and keep endoscopic imaging instruments’ field of vision clear. While the filing did not reveal the identities of SurgiQuest’s latest backers, two members of its board of directors listed on the document also represent venture capital firms: Rodney Altman of CMEA Ventures and Ned Scheetz of Aphelion Capital LLC.
The latest financing round, which combined the sale of equity, options and warrants for securities, adds to the $9.4 million SurgiQuest pulled in (PDF) from a securities sale in December 2008, which it said it planned to use for working capital, according to a regulatory document.
Early last year SurgiQuest inked a deal with Intuitive Surgical Inc. (NSDQ:ISRG) to incorporate its AirSeal technology into a disposable laparoscopic access system for use with Intuitive’s robotic surgery device. The AirSeal system enables the simultaneous use of multiple instruments through a single port while monitoring and maintaining pressure inside the pleural cavity, according to SurgiQuest’s website. The device also re-circulates and filters peritoneal gas to remove smoke generated by cauterization or other electrosurgical procedures and keeps endoscopes free of debris and tissue fragments.