UPDATED: Silicon Valley wearable vital sign patch startup raises $25M

VitalPatch--Courtesy of Vital Connect

Disposable vital sign patch company VitalConnect has raised $25 million in debt and a bumped up Series B round. The news comes after the Silicon Valley startup launched its VitalPatch earlier this year; this is the latest, smallest iteration of its wearable vital sign monitor.

It closed $17.5 million in a term loan from high-profile biotech crossover investor Perceptive Advisors, of which $10 million funded at closing. In addition, it increased its Series B round by $7.8 million to $22.1 million.

"Virtual patient monitoring with wearable biosensors is evolving into an important method of care delivery for hospitals and doctors," said VitalConnect chairman and CEO Dr. Nersi Nazari in a statement. "These additional financings confirm that biosensors are the foundation for improving patient care and the speed of medical response that will lead to better outcomes for future patients."

The VitalPatch is a peel-and-stick, single-use device that's roughly the size and shape of a Band-Aid. It continuously measures and records single lead ECG, heart rate, heart rate variability, respiratory rate, skin temperature, posture, step count and fall detection with clinical accuracy. It sends data via Bluetooth on a mobile device to the Vital Connect platform to enable healthcare providers to access data and receive notifications.

It's powered by a disposable zinc air battery that lasts about three days with ECG use and about four days without it. The company said its measurements are as accurate as with the prior, larger iteration, HealthPatch.

At about the same time that Vital Connect's Vital Patch launched earlier this year, med tech giant Royal Philips ($PHG) rolled out its own wearable vital sign patch that's intended to be worn by the patient on his or her way home from the hospital.

- here is the release

Editor's note: An earlier iteration of this article was written from an SEC filing, the company subsequently provided updated financing information.