TECHNOLOGY

Advanced Scanners

Surgical planning and procedure has become ever more integrated with machine vision and robotic assistance. The FDA has recognized the significant vision gap that leads to “patient deaths, life-threatening injuries, and failed, aborted, and prolonged medical procedures.” Advanced Scanners has developed an optical machine vision platform to track anatomy during surgery. Utilizing cutting edge lighting and imaging techniques their scanner maps the anatomy and provides realtime tracking updates (corrections) to navigation, robotic, and AR/VR visualization platforms so they present accurate information to surgeons during a procedure. Advanced Scanners is one of very few companies addressing this issue and developing commercial solutions with market-leading companies across a spectrum of applications. They are currently raising a Series A round with commitments from a global medical device company and the founder of one of the largest and most published neurosurgery groups in the United States. They are looking for a colead and fill-in investors.

The Bleeding Edge

Innovation is a global force. At AngelMD we are proud to support entrepreneurs and clinicians from all around the world. This issue we bring you some cuttingedge concepts from Australia, Europe, the Middle East and even far-away Canada. If you or your peers know of any international startups looking for support or introductions into the world’s largest healthcare marketplaces, make sure they register their companies at AngelMD.

Also don’t miss out on the upcoming Pitch Madness contest coming this spring. Make sure your favorite startups are represented!

If you have any questions about these companies or would like to recommend any “gee whiz” technology yourself, please contact us at MDNext@AngelMD.com.

Micro Pacemakers

Via Physics Today—Scientists have fabricated and successfully tested an ultrathin patch-type cardiac device that can monitor a heartbeat and apply stimulations as necessary.

Currently, these functions are performed by bulky and intrusive devices such as pacemakers. While these were miracle machines for many decades, the surgery required to implant pacemakers is complicated and can be risky. This new device, on the other hand, has a unique adhesive that allows it to stick directly to a wet organ such as the heart.

The researchers, from Yonsei University in Korea, believe that the platform they have developed may one day replace pacemakers and therefore avoid unnecessary surgical risks. The team has so far only tested the device on a live rabbit model and an artificial heart, but successful results suggest that this is a promising new technology that bears further investigation.

NeuroGeneces

Neurodegenerative diseases are associated with accelerated brain aging, and as a result the concept of Brain Age has gained attention as a measurement of brain function. Current methods for Brain Age rely on MRI scans which limits their accessibility and scalability. NeuroGeneces’ innovative approach for determining Brain Age analyzes the electrophysiology of the brain during sleep with an at-home EEG sleep headband and AI algorithms. Macro and micro features of sleep capture how well the brain’s key processes—such as memory consolidation, hormone activation, inflammatory response and glymphatic cleansing—are operating. When mapped to a reference range, these electrophysical patterns provide an objective measure of overall brain function which is summarized in the biological Brain Age. Changes in brain function occur up to 20 years before cognitive symptoms become apparent. This enables early detection and risk assessment for neurodegeneration in presymptomatic individuals—at a time when interventions and behavioral changes can be most effective. NeuroGeneces is transforming brain wellness—while we sleep. Their platform integrates neuroscience, sleep science and AI to create a suite of braincare solutions, from proactive screening and brain health assessment to targeted neuromodulation to enhance brain function.

SFA Terapeutics

SFA Therapeutics is reimagining the treatment of autoimmune disease.TM Autoimmune disease affects over 350 million people and remains a field with serious unmet medical needs. Major autoimmune diseases include psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and MS. Current treatments focus on symptoms, using drugs that have major side effects due to immunosuppression. SFA is focused on treating the root causes of autoimmune disease, with a novel class of oral drugs that target key inflammatory cytokines and return them to normal levels. The method of action for these oral drugs downregulates TNFa, IL17, IL23 and IFNg. SFA has six drugs in their pipeline. Psoriasis is the initial indication for proving their platform, with their lead drug, SFA002. In a previous phase 1a clinical trial, 6 out of 6 patients with psoriasis showed significant responses. A second trial is now underway in 30 patients with mild and moderate psoriasis. Enrollment is underway at four clinical sites, and SFA expects preliminary data in early 2023. For more information, contact Dr. Ira Spector, CEO, at iraspector@ sfatherapeutics.com.

BEFORE AFTER BEFORE AFTER

Human data show treatment effect with SFA002 in a new patient with moderate-to-severe psoriasis

Sonosine

Currently, patients presenting with soft tissue disturbances in a wide variety of disease conditions are difficult to diagnose. Current medical imaging such as MRI, CT and ultrasound are either expensive, complex, have long-waiting times or often produce non-diagnostic images. This is particularly the case with musculoskeletal (MSK) or sports injuries where long waiting times and inconclusive images hinder getting the correct treatment fast. Sonosine has developed a pointof-care modality which can detect these soft tissue disturbances using a patented radio frequency-based technology called Electromagnetic Acoustics (EMA). The company’s Pulsar 1 device will enable point-of-care medical

diagnostic imaging that is cost-effective, safer and more comfortable. The Pulsar 1 device is an ‘addon’ to existing ultrasound machines to create images with advanced tissue differentiation detection with pathological features such as increased blood perfusion, calcification, and inflammation clearly visible. This portable device can be used to monitor healing and effectiveness of treatment with no restrictions on frequency of use. Pulsar 1 will initially be used to image MSK conditions, with clinical trials set to begin in early 2023. Sonosine plans to expand the use of its technology to other applications such as breast, liver and kidney with an initial NIH-funded trial scheduled for late 2023. Contact: info@sonosine.com.

Hylid Diagnostics

While diabetes outcomes and costs have improved—particularly with internet-connected glucometers and engagement-enhancing remote care (aka digital health)—Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) outcomes and costs have steadily worsened. We need a ‘glucometer for CKD’, ie a simple at-home system for measuring biomarker levels important to CKD, such as potassium, creatinine, and hemoglobin.

Hylid Diagnostics (HyliDx) is developing the first cloud-connected home blood-testing system able to measure multiple disease markers in a finger-prick drop of blood, to enable a vast expansion of Remote Care capabilities. Their first target is chronic kidney disease (CKD). CKD often develops from diabetes and has approximately the same number of sufferers and Medicare treatment costs as diabetes.

With its patent-pending optical sensor technology, HyliDx is the only company that can provide lab-accurate biomarker measurements in the hands of any user. It can also do so at a fraction of the cost of similar devices designed for hospitals, which use more complex and difficult-to-manufacture electrochemical sensors for their measurements.

HyliDx has a working prototype instrument and single-use test cartridge— containing biomarker sensors that demonstrate tight precision in benchmarking against central laboratory equipment. With a completed system—including manufacturing and EMR-connected eHealth app—HyliDx is poised to start disrupting the $400B US/EU CKD market in 2024. n

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