Aidoc, an Israeli MedTech startup assisting radiologists with computer vision and AI, has closed a $66 million Series C funding round. The investment was led by General Catalyst, with participation from existing investors: Alpha Intelligence, Emerge Capital, Magma Ventures, TLV Partners, Square Peg Capital, and Maor Investments.
Bringing military-grade computer vision to the hospital
Aidoc wants to help radiologists speed up accurate medical imaging analysis. The Aidoc system compares and analyzes medical images along with patient’ clinical data, to alert radiologists to relevant areas of the scan. The company’s product has been out of the theory aisle for a while now. The system has received numerous FDA approvals already, and has been installed in over 100 hospitals around the world.
Behind the scenes, the system trains AI on millions of medical images, so that it can differentiate between normal scans and not normal ones. On the technical side, it is installed as a virtual server inside a hospital’s secure server room. The software operates in the background in parallel with the radiologist, queuing up relevant information regarding medical scans. The data is analyzed and distributed anonymously in the cloud. Once the scans return from processing they are prioritized by case severity to better help radiologist’s decision making. Essentially, adding a second set of really smart eyes in the medical imaging analysis process.
CEO and co-founder, Elad Walach, told Geektime that despite the amazing advancements and developments in the field, the Aidoc system wasn’t created to replace radiologists -- but rather, work alongside them. “The machine never gets tired and can perform multiple tasks at once. Radiologists, on the other hand, no matter how impressive their skill and experience might be, obviously can’t decipher and analyze 10 scans at the same time. However, that same experience, in this process, is imperative to provide a deeper understanding of a patient’s situation, and therefore, more accurate imaging analysis at a faster rate,” said Walach.
Why do you think Israel has so many startups combining computer vision and healthcare? Is it just a coincidence?
Walach: “The computer vision expertise stems from the military. Our case was similar, we were looking for an industry where we could use our experience from the army and make a positive change in the world. Healthcare is definitely falling behind in the efficiency department, creating an ideal connection for us.”
Last September, Aidoc announced the expansion of its Series B funding round along with an accelerated FDA approval for scanning chests of potential A-symptomatic COVID patients. Walach added that the global crisis helped open up traditional healthcare systems to new innovation, which was very helpful for the company: “COVID only highlighted the need for solutions to help prioritize radiologists’ workflow, and that was the goal of our products even before the pandemic. The outbreak helped solidify the value we provide.”
Aidoc was founded in 2016 by Walach, CTO Michael Braginsky and VP R&D Guy Reiner. The company has raised $140 million to date, and employs nearly 190 people between offices in Israel, the U.S., and Europe. Aidoc intends to use the capital to expand its global customer base and recruit new talent for the team.
