eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.
Personalized health electronics company Scanadu announced it has received $10.5 million in Series A funding, with Relay Ventures leading the round of funding with participation from VegasTechFund, Ame Cloud Ventures and others.
Other participating investors in the Series A round include Broe Group, Mindful Investors and Redmile Group. With this round, Scanadu has raised $14.7 million in funding to date.
The latest round of funding will be used to support Scanadu’s go-to-market strategy and manufacturing, continue its path to U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval and expand the company’s roster of employees, a release noted.
“We focus on backing ambitious entrepreneurs who are using mobile computing to unlock opportunity and create new markets,” Kevin Talbot, co-founder and managing partner of Relay Ventures, said in a statement. “[Founder and CEO Walter De Brouwer]’s vision for the future of consumer healthcare is profound and Scanadu stands to make a lasting impact on an industry ripe for disruption.”
Scanadu also announced plans to conduct its first clinical trials for Scanadu Scout—a vital sign monitor that analyzes, tracks and trends vital signs, including temperature, respiratory rate and blood pressure, in 10 seconds—at the Scripps Translational Science Institute (STSI). Those studies will be conducted as part of the Wired for Health mobile trial, which includes patients who live with diabetes, hypertension and heart arrhythmia. This first baseline study will help design future controlled studies, and will be designed to empower adults through a Scout to yield optimal blood pressure.
The company is also creating a disposable urine analysis testing platform, ScanaFlo, which works with a user’s smartphone to offer a complete urine analysis test in minutes.
“We are more determined than ever to make the first medical tricorder a reality,” Scanadu’s De Brouwer said in a statement. “With the experience and expertise of this group of investors and advisors, we know we’re in the right position to take our vision all the way and put FDA approved devices in the hands of consumers.”
Scanadu’s newly established Medical Advisory Board comprises leaders with experience across the medical, regulatory and research fields. The advisors include a former assistant director for technology and innovation at the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health and a former assistant professor at Columbia University and research scientist at MIT.
A company release stated all members have a stake in advancing consumer health care and will actively advise Scanadu on long-term strategy and facilitate the sharing of knowledge and innovation transfer between the company and the larger research and medical communities.