A Madison-based startup that makes technology to improve outcomes in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) has raised $2.5 million to commercialize its product in the U.S.
Child Health Imprints was founded in Singapore in 2018 and established its U.S. operations in Madison in 2021. The company has gained traction in Asia and is looking to prove itself in the U.S. by establishing early customers here, Child Health Imprints CEO Harpreet Singh said.
"The focus is, first of all, to get the prominent children's hospitals and delivery centers to use this product," Singh said. "Then, you multiply."
The startup's latest funding round was led by Madison's HealthX Ventures. Other investors that participated included Green Bay's Tundra Angels, BrightStar Wisconsin Foundation Inc., the University of Calgary through its UCeed fund and Hong Kong-based Saltagen Ventures.
Individual investors in Wisconsin — Gene Gutman of the University of Wisconsin-Stout and Mark Binversie — and a few other individuals outside of Wisconsin also participated.
Child Health Imprints previously raised $3 million in Asia and used that funding to get the product into 27 hospitals in India, South Korea and Singapore, Singh said.
The startup has run pilots with eight or nine U.S. health care providers, including UW Health American Family Children's Hospital in Madison, and is now looking to secure commercial contracts with those and other U.S. customers, Singh said. It's focusing on California, Florida and Texas, which are the largest U.S. regions for neonatal deliveries, and it's also serving Midwest states including Wisconsin, Minnesota and Indiana.
Singh, who attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison as a graduate student, started Child Health Imprints after losing one of his own children as a newborn due to necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). His wife gave birth to premature twins more than 10 years ago and one of the babies passed away while in the NICU.
The company's mission is to leverage data to improve outcomes for babies in the NICU — a goal that has similar challenges no matter where in the world the infants are located.
"Babies are very fragile," Singh said. "This is a population that cannot give you any feedback. Unlike adult ICUs, where the patient can tell you what the problem is, a baby can only cry."
Child Health Imprints' technology combines data from the multiple devices NICU babies are hooked up to and uses the data to assist neonatologists and nurses, Singh said. It integrates with electronic medical records systems like Epic and Cerner.
The startup is also developing artificial intelligence and predictive analytics technologies designed to reduce human error and improve early diagnoses of critical diseases.
