Ornim Medical Ltd., which has developed the CerOx monitor of cerebral tissue oxygenation, has raised $10 million in the second half of a financing round from GE Healthcare, OrbiMed Advisors LLC, and Agate Medical Investments LP. Ornim raised $10 million in 2012, and was promised additional funding, subject to milestones.
The company met the milestones, including the installation of its device at leading US hospitals. It currently has 30 employees.
Ornim's CerOx is the only non-invasive device on the market monitoring cerebral blood oxygenation in patients with severe brain trauma. Other devices on the market monitor cerebral blood oxygenation by inserting monitors through holes drilled in the skull, a less desirable solution, but which indicates the market need for the data that the CerOx monitor can provide.
The CerOx device uses the company's patented UTLight technology, which utilizes weak acoustic beams to identify light emerging from deep tissue layers. UTLight harnesses the ability of near-infrared light to measure regional oxygen saturation in combination with ultrasound that can achieve localization via the acousto-optic effect. Changes in blood flow change the way the light is refracted from the blood vessels. The monitor can spot in advance, and sometimes prevent, deterioration in a patient's condition, which can result in brain damage
"We're very pleased by the company's progress at every level, and especially from the clinical results we've obtained, which show that the product is already in use," said Ornim CEO Israel Schreiber. "The investment will allow us to support additional development and international marketing."
Ornim was founded by Dr. Revital Shechter and Dr. Michal Balberg in 2004, with an investment from Davidi Gilo's venture capital fund.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 18, 2014
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