Israeli FemTech startup MobileODT, which developed the EVA System for cervical cancer screening, announced a $4 million Series C funding round led by OrbiMed Israel Partners, with Tristel, Tara Health, and Laerdal also getting in on the action. The funds will be pointed towards the advancement of the company’s Augmented Intelligence solution.
As the second most common cancer among women, after breast cancer, cervical cancer causes 311,000 deaths annually worldwide. The most tragic fact about cervical cancer is it can be easily treated if caught early. Globally, 932 million women require cervical cancer screening, yet almost 600 million women will never be tested due to lack of access to healthcare. MobileODT's novel AI technology, VisualCheck, will automatically predict how a highly trained colposcopist may evaluate a cervix, to make quality screening more accessible.
Just recently, newly appointed CEO Leon A. Boston took the company reins, and already finds himself needing to access his extensive experience maneuvering a MedTech company through various growth stages amid the current funding success. The pairing couldn’t have come at a better time. "Launching VisualCheck to the world markets will be a game changer in women's health," said Boston. "We have a tremendous opportunity to close the gap between lack of access and lack of experts in the field of cervical cancer screening, and reduce the number of unnecessary deaths of women globally."
According to Boston, "There is a great deal of complexity in developing an AI product and the company has undergone major changes to get to this point. We now have the right team and technology to make VisualCheck a reality for women's health."
Recently, the company completed initial validation of its AI VisualCheck technology. Preliminary results show high agreement rates between the AI algorithm and leading experts in cervical cancer. VisualCheck is planned to be released later this year. Tel Aviv based MobileODT was founded in 2012 by David Levitz, PhD and Ariel Beery, and has raised a total of $26 million to date. The company’s advanced imaging solution is already in deployment in 30 countries and a valuable tool for more than 60 U.S. health systems.