SpectraWAVE has raised $50 million to support its approach to imaging the insides of clogged, plaque-filled blood vessels.
The Massachusetts-based company combines optical coherence tomography and near-infrared spectroscopy—two light-based methods for determining the properties of tissue—into a catheter-based tool that can help surgeons analyze the makeup of coronary artery blockages from within.
SpectraWAVE’s HyperVue system, which received two FDA clearances in 2023, also features an artificial-intelligence-powered program to help measure vessel plaques without contrast agents, to aid surgeons in precisely placing stents during percutaneous coronary interventions.
Its series B funding round was led by Johnson and Johnson Innovation, the conglomerate’s venture capital arm, with additional backing from S3 Ventures, Lumira Ventures, SV Health Investors, Deerfield Management, NovaVenture and Heartwork Capital, among others.
“Intravascular imaging guidance is backed by a wealth of randomized clinical trials (RCT) and recently collated in a meta-analysis of 22 RCT studies and approximately 16,000 patients published this year in The Lancet, demonstrating significantly improved outcomes for patients undergoing coronary stenting,” SpectraWAVE CEO Eman Namati said in a statement.
“This evidence and broad recognition of impact has recently moved intravascular imaging to a 1A guideline recommendation in Europe, with an expectation that the United States will follow in due time,” Namati added.
With the latest proceeds, the company aims to develop new software for HyperVue that will add the ability to measure drops in blood pressure within the coronary arteries, without the use of wire-based sensors, while also supporting its ongoing commercial operations.