Empo Health announced the commercialization of its solution for diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) management following its most recent $7 million fundraising round. The funding round was led by Story Ventures, with participation from VTC Ventures, alongside existing investors including Ulu Ventures, SeaX Ventures, Arben Ventures, and Gaingels. This funding round brings Empo’s capital raised to date to $15 million.
Problem being addressed: Tens of millions of Americans suffer from diabetic neuropathy and are at high risk of developing DFUs, which consume up to $80 billion in US healthcare spending annually. Without proper monitoring and care, DFUs can lead to costly disability, hospitalizations, and amputations. Most of these amputations are preventable with appropriate surveillance.
Physicians prescribe Empo’s solution to patients with neuropathy who have lost protective sensation in their feet. And the system combines the FDA-listed Empo Footprint imaging scale with the HIPAA-compliant Empo Remote Health Link patient monitoring service, enabling regular at-home monitoring of feet for early intervention by healthcare providers. Patients step on the scale at home to generate an easily-understandable full-color visual image of their feet. The image is then automatically transmitted to the care team, enabling early detection and appropriate follow-up on potential issues. In a pilot study, Empo demonstrated near-daily patient engagement and successfully helped detect early indications of ulcers in half of the patient participants.
New board members: In connection with the financing, three new members joined Empo’s Board of Directors: Brian Yormak (Managing Partner at Story Ventures), Steve Reale (Partner and CFO at Ulu Ventures), and Partha Ray (formerly director at Dexcom and Johnson & Johnson).
KEY QUOTES:
“We believe that the patients most in need of health monitoring currently have the most difficult access to it. We founded Empo to change that, meeting patients where they are in their homes and giving clinicians actionable tools to significantly reduce the diabetic foot amputations that drive patient mortality and high healthcare costs. We’re excited to bring our solution to patients, providers, and payors commercially.”
Anuj Khandelwal, Co-Founder & CEO of Empo Health
“Empo represents a critical change in the technology landscape. Connected hardware enables proprietary software informed by real-world data. Through Empo’s Footprint connected scale, the company is improving outcomes and care for millions of people with diabetes at risk of foot ulcers and amputations. We’re incredibly excited to support the company as they go to market.”
Brian Yormak, Managing Partner of Story Ventures
“The Empo Footprint is designed from the ground up to be approachable and simple for the patient, taking only a few seconds for the entire interaction. Our Empo Remote Health Link service displays full-color visual images that providers already know how to interpret, shared at the right time so they can remotely determine an appropriate course of action.”
Eric Dahlseng, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer of Empo Health
“We’re excited to invest in Empo because they’re solving an important problem with empathy, precision, and purpose. At SeaX, we exist to back mission-driven founders who are using science and technology to create real-world impact, especially in healthcare. Empo’s work is a powerful example of that.”
Dr. Kid Parchariyanon, Founder and Managing Partner at SeaX Ventures
“We’re thrilled to invest in Empo Health, an innovative company transforming healthcare with cutting-edge in-home monitoring solutions. Empo has been collaborating with Carilion, will continue to develop its technology here, and is soon initiating a study with our patients and providers.”
James Ramey, Managing Director of VTC Ventures
