St. Louis medical technology startup SentiAR Inc., which has developed a holographic guiding system for cardiac procedures, has raised $8.5 million in Series B funding.
Michigan-based cultivate (MD) Ventures, a new investor in SentiAR, led the funding round. Other investors in the round include MedVenture Partners, also a new investor, and existing investors including TechWald Holding, VCapital, QRM Capital and Harmonix Fund. The Series B financing follows a $5.1 million Series A funding round closed in 2021 by SentiAR.
SentiAR said the Series B financing will help with its efforts to broaden clinical use of its CommandEP product, which provides physicians with a holographic guidance system for invasive cardiac procedures. The product uses augmented reality (AR) technology that allows surgeons to see 3D real-time holograms through a wearable headset while conducting procedures. SentiAR in 2020 received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the CommandEP system.
“We are delighted to welcome new investors,” Berk Tas, CEO of SentiAR, said in a news release. “This funding allows us to meet the great interest from physicians for this first of its kind application. We look forward to working with our clinical and strategic partners as we scale up clinical deployments.”
SentiAR said its CommandEP system aims to speed up procedures and that its technology has been found to increase physicians’ navigation accuracy in the heart by up to 50%. SentiAR said it plans to finalize new clinical studies for its CommandEP system in the second half of 2023.
"Our group has been looking for a valuable clinical AR solution that has the potential to disrupt how clinical procedures are performed. SentiAR's CommandEP system fits this perfectly,” said R. Sean Churchill, executive director of cultivate (MD) Ventures, in a statement. “It is profoundly impactful, exceptionally simple and does not impede clinical workflows.”
Spun out of Washington University, SentiAR launched in 2017 and was founded by Jennifer Silva, Jonathan Silva and Michael Southworth. It has been backed locally by BioSTL’s BioGenerator Ventures and venture capital firm Cultivation Capital.
