Augmedics, an Israeli MedTech startup developing an augmented reality surgical image guidance system, announced the closing of a $36 million Series C funding round. The investment was led by H.I.G Capital, Almeda Ventures, and Revival Healthcare Capital. The oversubscribed round saw participation from HCA Healthcare, Health Insight Capital, and existing investor XR Invest. This round comes just 8 months after the company’s $21 million Series B, bringing total funding to date to $63 million.
The future of surgery
“We are very pleased to have completed this large financing round led by H.I.G. Capital, Revival Healthcare Capital, and Almeda Ventures, which will enable us to promote and expand our operations and meet the strong demand we are experiencing for our technology in the U.S. following our commercial launch last year,” said CEO Nissan Elimelech, who founded the company back in 2104.
Augmedics’ visualization technology, called xvision Spine System, creates a 3D model of spinal anatomy of a patient during surgery. This arms surgeons with a sort of “X-Ray vision” when navigating instruments next to the highly delicate spinal cord. Think about Tom Cruise in the movie Minority Report and how he could manipulate images with a swift of the hand. The system allows surgeons to keep direct focus on the patient, rather than staring at some remote screen. The system’s small footprint, economical cost, and compatibility with current instrumentation is designed to allow easy integration into any surgical facility worldwide.
The MedTech company’s system is designed to revolutionize how surgery is performed by giving the surgeon better visualization, control, and accuracy. The company had already secured FDA approval back in 2019, and noted that the xvision Spine System was the first AR (augmented reality) surgical image guidance platform to receive FDA clearance.
The company reported that after launching xvision Spine last year, over 250 spinal surgeries have already been performed with the help of the AR system. It will look to use the funds to expand commercialization in the U.S., obtain CE approval to market in Europe, and develop the next generation of products. Augmedics also noted that it plans to expand surgical applications for its 3D visualization platform, not limiting themselves to spinal related surgery.
