machineMD, a Swiss medtech startup has secured €3.2 million oversubscribing its seed round by 50%. The round was led by Guido Fluri Foundation – Leading Partner of the SSC’s Investor Club, which is committed to the fight against brain tumors.
Prior to this, machineMD was awarded an Innosuisse project of €1.25 million to fully develop a prototype device. This capital came from Inselspital, CSEM and Helbling.
The current seed funding round is complemented by a convertible note of €1.2 million committed in 2021, which will now be converted into equity. machineMD was further supported by a financial contribution from the Canton of Bern.
Medical VR device
machineMD is developing a medical device for the early diagnosis of neurological disorders including brain tumors via neuro-ophthalmic examinations. With the fresh funds, the company is in plans to bring its first product to the market by the end of 2023.
“This seed round showed us the Sitem StartUp Club is not only a place where MedTech startups get office space, find a lively community and coaching, but also gave us access to an exclusive and active investor club,” explained Dominic Senn, CEO of machineMD. ” For us, as well as for other MedTech startups, such a comprehensive funding offer with a strong financing component is a key success factor that shows how well Bern is positioned in the field of translational medicine.”
How was machineMD born?
machineMD is a spin-off of the University Hospital of Bern, Inselspital, founded by Prof. Mathias Abegg and a team of entrepreneurs and medical device experts in 2019. The startup is developing a novel diagnostic device that enables complete, standardised and automated neuro-ophthalmic examinations.
Its aim is to bring the diagnostic quality of a highly qualified tertiary care specialist to where it is needed most, especially in primary and secondary care. It combines virtual reality with AI to use biomarkers such as eye and pupil movements to accelerate the diagnosis of brain diseases such as stroke, multiple sclerosis and brain tumours.
The Berne-based startup has developed a device, which will enable early diagnosis of brain diseases such as tumors, MS, strokes, etc. It measures eye and pupil reaction to visual stimuli. With this device, doctors can better plan for their patients and provide more accurate, quantitative and objective assessments.
As per the company, it is claimed that this device will allow doctors and optometrists to perform eight fully automated examinations within 10 minutes.
