Eyes not only let us enjoy the beauty around us but also help doctors diagnose a range of health issues such as Parkinson’s disease. Reportedly, in Parkinson’s disease alone, one out of four patients are misdiagnosed and wait an average of 13 months to receive a diagnosis. By this time, they would have lost 65% of dopamine-producing neurons. Preventing this scenario, French-Belgian medtech startup neuroClues (formerly known as P3Lab), is building accessible, high-speed eye-tracking technology with AI-driven analysis.
Closes €5M funding
neuroClues has just closed a €5 million pre-Series A funding round led by White Fund and the European Commission’s EIC Accelerator program. It also saw participation from existing investors Invest.BW and business angels such as Fiona du Monceau, former Chair of the Board at UCB, Artwall, and Olivier Legrain, CEO of IBA. With this funding round, the startup will have raised a total funding of €12 million.
This funding will enable the startup, incubated at iPEPS, the ParisSalpêtrière Incubator, to expand into European and North American markets. The company is in the process of submitting applications to obtain FDA approval in the United States starting in 2024 and CE marking in Europe in 2025.
Revolutionary eye-tracking solution
Founded by Antoine Pouppez and Pierre Daye, neuroClues is developing a medical device based on eye-tracking to aid in the early diagnosis of neurological diseases. The device is a headset controlled by an intuitive interface. Placed in front of the patient’s eyes, the headset can record up to 800 infrared images per eye per second as the patient follows a moving point on a screen.
Compact and portable, this analysis tool meets the needs of both daily clinical practice and research. It analyses eye movements within minutes to identify precise, objective, quantifiable, and non-invasive biomarkers. These biomarkers can support healthcare practitioners in diagnosing neurological disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, etc. several years before the onset of clinical symptoms such as memory loss or tremors.
“This fundraising and the very positive clinical data from the study with the Brain Institute are strong signals that reaffirm our vision. We aim to change the landscape of diagnosis and management of neurodegenerative diseases. Currently, it takes about a year to confirm the diagnosis of these diseases. We will significantly reduce this timeframe. We are in the process of creating the ‘stethoscope of the brain’ that will improve the lives of patients.” stated Antoine Pouppez, CEO and co-founder of neuroClues.
“Indeed, subtle alterations in eye movement parameters can precede the onset of gait and balance disorders, allowing for the early detection of brain circuit dysfunctions in Parkinson’s Disease before symptoms appear. This early detection will enable the implementation of earlier care by strengthening the patient’s abilities (compensation). This can involve physical and sports training, monitoring, and management of risk factors: the patient becomes their own therapist!” explains Professor Marie Vidailhet, Professor of Neurology at the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital and head of the “Mov’It2,” team at the ICM (co-headed by Professor Stéphane Lehéricy)”.
