- AI-assisted MRI solutions company HeartVista announced it raised $8.65 million in Series A funding
HeartVista, a pioneer in AI-assisted MRI solutions, announced it raised $8.65 million in Series A funding. This funding round was led by Khosla Ventures, Jeff Rothschild, Leslie Ventures, Open Field Capital, and additional investors. When this funding is combined with several grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), this latest raise brings the company’s total funding to $16.35 million.
This additional funding will go towards building AI-guided musculoskeletal and neural packages; expanding HeartVista’s sales, marketing, and regulatory operations worldwide; deepening strategic partnerships with the world’s best cardiology centers; and enhancing its core One-Click Cardiac Package. The new funding will also enable HeartVista to offer free usage of its software for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic.
HeartVista’s One Click software platform enables real-time MRI for a variety of clinical and research applications. And its AI-driven one-click cardiac localization method received first place honors at the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine’s Machine Learning Workshop in 2018. The company’s technology originated at the Stanford Magnetic Resonance Systems Research Laboratory.
Despite the many advantages of manual cardiac MRI, its use has been largely limited due to a lack of trained technologists, high costs, long scan time, and complexity of use. And HeartVista’s software solves these issues by using AI-assisted software to prescribe the standard cardiac views with just one click and in as few as 10 seconds while the patient breathes freely. Plus the software also leverages a novel neural network that helps detect artifacts on scans and alerts physicians when the image quality is below the acceptable threshold.
Hospitals in dire need of operational efficiencies and increased capacity will be able to scan more patients with fewer technicians, freeing up scarce resources. And additionally, the company will offer free remote cardiac scanning services to providers who lack the staff to run the MRI machines.
This past year was an inflection point for HeartVista, which was full of significant milestones as the company received its fifth FDA 510(k) clearance for its AI-assisted One Click Cardiac Package, appointed Itamar Kandel as CEO, formed its Medical and Scientific Advisory Board, and expanded its Board of Directors to include Mark Leslie (former Chairman and CEO of VERITAS Software).
Key Quotes:
“We’re excited to attract such a strong group of investors, led by Khosla Ventures. The new funds will bring us closer to realizing our vision of making MRIs affordable, widely available, and highly consistent, ushering in the age of MRI for all.”
-Itamar Kandel, CEO of HeartVista
“We are big believers in AI when applied to imaging and HeartVista is a thought leader in this area. Their very pragmatic solution increases access to MRI imaging.”
-Vinod Khosla, Founder of Khosla Ventures
“There is no doubt that the future of medical imaging lies in the autonomous control of these modalities. Leveraging a unique business model that is vertically integrated in the healthcare sector, HeartVista is poised to corner this new gigantic market.”
-Mark Leslie, managing director of Leslie Ventures, and board member at HeartVista
