Poland’s Quantum Innovations has raised a €9.5m (41m złoty) round to set up a production facility for its devices that monitor organs during surgery.
The round, a part of which is a convertible loan, was raised from Vinci IQ, a Polish fund established by the country's National Development Bank and a MedTech Holding, a private initiative.
What does Quantum Innovations do?
Cardiovascular diseases remain one of the two leading causes of death in developed countries, and heart surgery requires high levels of precision and accurate monitoring of a patient’s condition.
Founded in 2017, Quantum Innovations, is developing sensors to try and make these operations safer, via two core technologies (which have nothing to do with quantum).
The first, HeartSense, enables real-time electrocardiogram monitoring directly from the surface of a beating heart. The second, HeartGuard, tracks tissue metabolism, including during periods when the heart is stopped for cardiac surgery.
The company says that using this data can help cardiac teams overcome knowledge gaps and prevent dangerous complications and fatalities in patients.
The technologies are currently at the proof-of-concept stage — their functionality has been confirmed on an animal model. It has been patented in Poland, and the startup is now in the process of getting patents in other countries.
The company, headquartered in Warsaw with a team of eight, is cofounded by Grzegorz Suwalski, a cardiac surgeon.
Where will the money go?
The funding round will be used to develop and set up a production line in a clean-room environment near Warsaw.
The startup will also use the cash to obtain necessary certifications, including clinical trials on humans. It wants to sell its devices on the European markets first, and then move to Brazil, China, India, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Canada and the USA.
When the plant becomes operational, the startup plans to employ up to 20 people.