RealView Imaging expands Series C to $15 million, receives FDA clearance for holographic system
Lowy Medical Research Institute, Rami Ungar and Judith and Kobi Richter were among the investors in the Israeli medtech startup’s latest funding round
Israel-based startup RealView Imaging has expanded its Series C funding round to $15 million with an additional $5 million investment from the likes of the Lowy Medical Research Institute and Rami Ungar. The company also announced that it received FDA clearance for its HOLOSCOPE-i holographic system. The system creates spatially accurate, three-dimensional interactive medical holograms, based on data received from standard CT scans and 3D ultrasound systems.
The additional funding also included investments from notable investors Judith and Kobi Richter, OurCrowd VC and Club100Plus Investments Group. The majority of the company’s existing shareholders also participated in this round, including serial technology and medical investors Dr. Shimon Eckhouse, who serves as the company chairman, and Zohar Gilon.
The HOLOSCOPE provides physicians with a natural 3D visualization experience, allowing direct and precise interaction with dynamic holograms of the patient’s true anatomy, floating in free space at hand’s reach, prior to and during interventional procedures.
The company was founded by Aviad Kaufman, Shaul Gelman and Prof. Carmel Rotschild, with a seed investment led by Dr. Shimon Eckhouse, the Chairman of the Board of Directors. Along with the development of the core holographic technology, RealView has generated a global IP portfolio (39 patents, 28 granted to date). The first-in-human clinical study to evaluate the feasibility of live 3D holographic imaging in a clinical setting was successfully performed a few years ago with a prototype holographic system at Schneider Children’s Medical Center in Israel, in collaboration with Philips Healthcare. The company has recently completed the installation of the HOLOSCOPE-i commercial configuration at Schneider Children’s and is continuing to perform collaborative clinical work at the medical center.
“Having a real hologram of the heart in my hand, based on pre-operative CT and intra-procedure ultrasound, allows me to focus-in and fully understand the complexities of the patient’s 3D anatomy,” said Dr. Elchanan Bruckheimer, Cath Lab Director at Schneider Children’s Medical Center and Medical Director for RealView Imaging. “Using the holographic system, I can intuitively comprehend the dynamic spatial anatomical relationships of the cardiac valve leaflets, for example. I can literally touch, mark, locate, slice or define a path for the intervention. This technology provides me with more confidence, potentially resulting in shorter procedures and better outcomes.”
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“There is a rapidly growing need for advanced visualization solutions in the world of Medical Imaging, driven by the huge trend to perform minimally-invasive procedures that exclusively rely on imaging technologies”, said Shaul Gelman, CEO and Co-Founder of RealView Imaging. “The HOLOSCOPE-i delivers the next-generation of 3D interactive visualization tools that empower imaging-based medical interventions, allowing clinicians to intuitively understand the complex anatomy they are treating in a realistic and accessible way like never seen before."
“Following this important FDA clearance, we are now focused on the commercialization of the HOLOSCOPE-i system in North America and are planning to expand our market reach to additional countries over the next year," said Dr. Shimon Eckhouse, RealView’s Chairman of the Board. "I believe RealView can significantly impact the growing field of structural heart interventions, as well as additional clinical fields which rely on advanced imaging to deliver better and faster medical care."
