Israeli MedTech incubator MEDX Xelerator announced a $2.5 million investment in three new early-stage startups, with each startup securing around $800k.
Significantly reducing inflammation
Swift Duct develops a navigational tool for the ERCP procedure, which minimizes the risk for infections in the pancreas. The inflammation can be caused because during the procedure the catheter is accidentally inserted into the pancreas duct, rather than the gallbladder duct.
The company’s proprietary technology helps reduce the length of the medical procedure, in addition to simplifying it and reducing morbidity rates. According to the company, its tool provides a solution to over 84,000 patients in the U.S. alone, who suffer from painful side effects due to faulty insertion of the ERCP catheter.
CEO Mark Kreizer responded to the investment by saying that “our goal is to transform the ERCP market into a safe and simple medical procedure. There’s an urgent demand coming from the field, and we believe that our innovative solution can help the tens of thousands of patients suffering each year from bile duct blockage.” The company’s founding group also includes Dr. Mohammad Ghosheh, Dr. Yivgeni Plutkin, and Innovation Manager at ALYN Hospital Samantha Rush Socolof.
The vest that relieves stress from your chest
Israeli startup Synchrony Medical develops a treatment device for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The medical device is a smart vest that emulates breathing, and is based on a treatment devised by the entrepreneurs behind the startup: Prof. Uri Efrati, Dr. Moshe Ashkenazi, and Gil Sokol. The company’s device allows for remote monitoring and treatment of COPD patients, which involves manual respiratory physiotherapy, and thus reduces possible infectious interaction between patients and medical personnel. The company notes that the idea for the vest was established, in part, through collaboration with Sheba Hospital’s COVID-19 command center.
CEO Anat Shani said that “our vision is to provide quality respiratory physiotherapy to all COPD patients, which require respiratory assistance on a daily basis. Joining the MEDX hub will allow us to achieve our goals.”
Shani continues to add that the need of her company’s product during COVID reality “coincides with the increase of remote care. The product minimizes interaction between patients and medical staff, while also reducing the need to physically show up at the medical center or hospital for treatment. In addition, the device will help cope with a surge in patients while also reducing dependency on skilled technicians and doctors to treat COPD.”
Preventing implant infections
Israeli startup Dimoveo Medical develops internal body cavity disinfection technologies for implants, without needing to remove the implants from the body. The technology utilizes ultrasound-accelerated nano-particles, which strike the implant at high velocity, resulting in a clean and undisturbed implant. The use of ultrasound energy changes the cleaning process by accessing areas that previously required the implant to be replaced.
The company was founded in July of 2020 by Dr. Tahel Altman, Dr. Shlomo Rotter, and attorney at law Yaniv Lambaz. CEO Amir Ramot said in response to the funding: “We are on a mission to improve protocols for in-body surface cleaning, in order to ensure sterile implants. It’s a very important challenge to overcome, as its quite common for patients with implants to experience infections that’ll force them to go under the knife for treatment.”
MEDX CEO Shai Policker explained that the 3 investments mark a significant milestone for the accelerator: “We continue to be committed to identifying technological solutions that can help improve various medical treatments, alongside providing the healthcare system with a tech-based upgrade.
