Sensome has raised seed money to take its connected stroke guidewire into clinical trials. The experimental device senses the composition of blood clots and feeds the information into machine learning algorithms to provide doctors with insights into how best to treat blockages.
Paris, France-based Sensome, formerly known as Instent, has raised about $5.4 million in seed funding from VC shop Kurma Diagnostics and other investors. The funding equips Sensome to take its technology out of the lab and into clinical trials.
“This seed round allows us to prepare first-in-human testing of our neurovascular product next year and to enter the stroke space,” Sensome CEO Franz Bozsak said in a statement. “The connected stroke guidewire will finally provide physicians with the information they need to reduce procedure times.”
The device’s potential to deliver such information stems from Sensome’s sensing technology and the systems the company has put in place to support it. Sensome’s sensors are designed to identify biological tissues they come into contact with. When applied to stroke patients, this means the device could tell whether a blockage is a white clot or red clot. Knowledge of the type of blood clot allows doctors to select the most appropriate intervention, saving time and improving outcomes.
To deliver such knowledge, Sensome has paired its sensing technology to machine learning algorithms. These algorithms will interpret data communicated wirelessly by the sensor-enabled guidewire and provide surgeons with real-time feedback on the nature of clots.
Sensome is yet to show whether its technology works like this when applied to humans. Next year’s clinical trial marks the start of the process of generating evidence. If the device performs as Sensome hopes, the trial will position the technology to improve outcomes in stroke and expand into other fields.
The time-sensitive nature stroke treatment and importance of differences in biological tissues make the condition an ideal proving ground for the technology. But Sensome has one eye on using the technology in other vascular access devices and eventually in implantable products.