Sensome raises $9 million Series B for tissue sensor that transforms medical devices

Sensome, a French medtech turning invasive medical equipment into connected healthcare devices, has raised $9 million in Series B financing. The round was funded by existing investors Kurma Partners, Idinvest Partners, BNP Paribas, Paris-Saclay seed fund, and also by newcomer Asahi Intecc, a Japanese leader in guidewire technology. Founded in 2014, Sensome is a spin-off from CNRS and Ecole polytechnique. The startup’s sensing technology combines micro-sensors with machine learning algorithms to instantly identify biological tissues upon contact. With the new funding, the company will test the clinical performance of its first product, a guidewire called Clotild, and prepare it for market. Sensome and Asahi also agreed to a two-year development plan to design a new connected guidewire for the treatment of ischemic stroke, which is the leading cause of long-term disability. Treatment runs as follows: the clot that’s blocking the brain blood vessel is removed via mechanical devices, which are guided from the groin over a wire. By integrating Sensome’s tissue sensor into Asahi’s Chikai guidewire, physicians have a greater chance of removing the clot on the first try, which currently only happens one third of the time.

“The future of interventional therapies depends on accessing the right information at the right time. We have developed the technology to empower medical devices with the required connectivity and data, be it in stroke or other medical fields”, said Franz Bozsak, CEO and co-founder of Sensome. He added, “The partnership with Asahi will demonstrate how Sensome’s sensor technology can be integrated seamlessly into any high-performance medical device.”