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/Pulsify Medical closes second round Series A funding of EUR 5.4 million for wearable ultrasound heart monitor patch

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Pulsify Medical closes second round Series A funding of EUR 5.4 million for wearable ultrasound heart monitor patch

Leuven, Belgium, 4 May 2021 - Pulsify Medical is developing wearable ultrasound patches to monitor vital human organs such as the heart. The company has announced the second closing of the Series A funding round with EUR 3.75 million in equity and EUR1.65 million as a non-dilutive grant. 

Pulsify Medical is a digital medical technology company developing wearable ultrasound patches which will monitor vital organs in real-time. The new and disruptive technology will address a serious unmet need for continuous cardiac monitoring in ICUs, hospitals, and homes across the world. 

Today, the company announced the second closing of their first funding round, having raised an additional EUR 3.75 million in equity bringing the total of the series A to EUR 6.35 million. Investors in the first Series A closing imec.xpand, KU Leuven and University Hospitals Leuven are joined by PMV, the Gemma Frisius Fund and imec. The company also secured a non-dilutive research grant of EUR 1.65 million from the Flanders Innovation and Entrepreneurship Administration (VLAIO).

Pulsify Medical continues to build on unique and IP-protected technology, combining imec’s unique flexible ultrasound transducer technology with KU Leuven’s world-class expertise in cardiac ultrasound imaging algorithms to build ‘the Smart Patch’.

The Smart Patch: changing lives of heart disease patients


Pulsify Medical aims to build a smart and flexible ‘Smart Patch’ containing thousands of sensors that monitor a variety of health parameters. The patch will be developed to reveal critical data about a patient’s cardiac health, such as changes in heart function. The information is relayed to both patients and physicians, in order to enable earlier medical intervention and prevention of an adverse cardiac event should an anomaly be detected.

Chris Japp, independent chairman of the Board of Directors: “Pulsify Medical has assembled an expert team with the mission of transforming cardiac healthcare through real-time remote ultrasound monitoring.  By combining new breakthroughs in ultrasound technology with the convenience and benefits of a wearable medical device, Pulsify Medical has the potential to significantly improve the lives of patients worldwide.”

Diane Lejeune, Business Manager, MedTech and eHealth, PMV: “Thanks to first-class technology and knowledge originating from Flemish strategic research centers, and a very experienced internal team, Pulsify Medical works on building products aiming to change the way heart function is being monitored, thereby improving care and allowing shorter hospital stays. We are convinced that such goals will have a tremendous impact in the ICUs and hospitals, not only in Flanders but worldwide, and are therefore delighted to join the group of investors supporting Pulsify Medical.”


Iwan van Vijfeijken, CEO of Pulsify Medical: “Cardiovascular diseases are the number one cause of death globally. Continuous cardiac monitoring and early warnings can save lives and improve health outcomes, which is our biggest motivator at Pulsify Medical. I’m proud to say that we’ve made great progress since our start in 2019: the team has optimized the algorithms that analyze the enormous datasets obtained during monitoring, and the patch has been designed to accommodate patients’ mobility as much as possible while accurately monitoring cardiac performance. This creates valuable information for patients and doctors that can be used to keep patients safe.”

Steve Stoffels, VP Technology of Pulsify Medical: “Ultrasound technology produces images with inimitable details, revealing critical information about a patient’s health. However, ultrasound monitoring tools aren’t yet widely available in hospital ICU’s, let alone in ambulatory settings like the home. Pulsify Medical will change this, allowing for better monitoring of vital organs as well as an improved patient experience.”
 

Published on:

4 May 2021

About Pulsify Medical
Pulsify Medical is a digital medical technology company developing wearable ultrasound patches to monitor vital organs in real time. The company was founded in 2019 as a spin-off of both imec and KU Leuven (Medical Imaging Center). Pulsify Medical’s cardiac patch will be the first device to continuously and directly measure and monitor heart performance in real time in both a hospital and home setting. https://pulsify-medical.com/

About PMV 
PMV is an investment company that shapes the economic future of Flanders by financing promising companies from the very start to growth and internationalization. With over EUR 1 billion in assets under management and led by experienced professionals, PMV offers tailor-made financial solutions for entrepreneurs with a solid business plan and a strong management team, including venture capital, loans and guarantees. More info about PMV can be found on www.pmv.eu.

About Gemma Frisius Fund 
Gemma Frisius Fund (GFF) is a seed capital fund, established in 1997 as a joint venture between KU Leuven, KBC Bank and BNP Paribas Fortis Private Equity. It combines the research and technology transfer expertise of the university with the financial and investment expertise of the two financial partners. GFF provides seed capital in the early development phases of innovative, research-based spin-off companies originating from all technology domains and provides support in their further growth process. For more information, please visit https://lrd.kuleuven.be/en/spinoff/gemma-frisius-fund


About VLAIO
The Agency for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (VLAIO) is an organization of the Flemish government for all entrepreneurs in Flanders. In 2016, the previously existing agencies Enterprise Flanders and the company-directed activities of IWT were merged into VLAIO. The research activities of IWT were taken over by the Flemish Research Council (FWO). The mission of VLAIO is to stimulate and support innovation and entrepreneurship and to contribute to a favourable business-climate in Flanders.
The activities of VLAIO comprise stimulating growth and innovation by financially supporting businesses through subsidies, inspiring entrepreneurship by collaborating with different parties that can guide SMEs with the (pre)start from growth until maturity or take-over; supporting clusters and enhancing environmental factors such as facilitating the development of business areas. www.vlaio.be 


About imec.xpand
Imec.xpand is an early stage and growth fund with a game-changing approach to turn hardware driven nanotechnology innovation into successful global companies. The fund is independently managed by a team of entrepreneurs, seasoned venture capitalists and business experts, and is targeting ambitious tech start-ups that meet all the criteria to become a successful, scalable ventures with the potential to change the world, and where imec knowledge, expertise and infrastructure can play a determining role in their success. For more information about imec.xpand, please visit www.imecxpand.com.

About imec

Imec is a world-leading research and innovation center in nanoelectronics and digital technologies. Imec leverages its state-of-the-art R&D infrastructure and its team of more than 4,500 employees and top researchers, for R&D in advanced semiconductor and system scaling, silicon photonics, artificial intelligence, beyond 5G communications and sensing technologies, and in application domains such as health and life sciences, mobility, industry 4.0, agrofood, smart cities, sustainable energy, education, … Imec unites world-industry leaders across the semiconductor value chain, Flanders-based and international tech, pharma, medical and ICT companies, start-ups, and academia and knowledge centers. Imec is headquartered in Leuven (Belgium), and has research sites across Belgium, in the Netherlands, Taiwan and the USA, and offices in China, India and Japan. In 2020, imec's revenue (P&L) totaled 680 million euro. 

Imec is a registered trademark for the activities of IMEC International (a legal entity set up under Belgian law as a "stichting van openbaar nut”), imec Belgium (IMEC vzw supported by the Government of Flanders), imec the Netherlands (Stichting IMEC Nederland, part of Holst Centre which is supported by the Dutch Government), imec Taiwan (IMEC Taiwan Co.), imec China (IMEC Microelectronics (Shanghai) Co. Ltd.), imec India (Imec India Private Limited) and imec Florida (IMEC USA nanoelectronics design center). 

About KU Leuven
As the number one European university for innovation, KU Leuven actively invests in launching innovative technologies in the commercial market by creating spin-off companies, securing and licensing intellectual property, and collaborating with industry. KU Leuven supports researchers and students in transforming their innovative ideas and technologies into commercial products and services that impact people’s lives worldwide. As such, KU Leuven encourages young entrepreneurs to develop a solid business plan, to validate the market and build a coherent team. Since its creation in 1972, KU Leuven Research & Development has supported the creation and growth of 142 spin-off companies, directly employing more than 7,000 people. KU Leuven’s spin-off companies constitute a huge economic leverage for the Leuven region. In the period from 2005 to 2020, KU Leuven invested EUR 16.5 million in its spin-off companies, and EUR 1.2 billion of external capital was raised. 115 of KU Leuven’s spin-off companies, of which the first was established in 1979, are still active today. Many have an international leading position. Seven spin-off companies have had an Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the stock exchange. Please visit lrd.kuleuven.be/en/spinoff for more information.