UCL Spinout Echopoint Medical Ltd Secures £4.2 Million Funding, Advancing FDA Approval for iKOr

Echopoint Medical, an innovative force in cardiovascular diagnostic technology and a spinout from UCL, announces a £4.2 million in Series A funding. This investment will support the company’s flagship iKOr system through the FDA approval process, setting the stage for its market debut in the United States.

The device, iKOr, uses a fibre optic sensor and a very thin catheter to check a person’s blood pressure, look for narrowing of the arteries and can even identify problems with the smallest of heart vessels. The device has a temperature and pressure sensor that is 0.2mm wide which is threaded through the patient’s blood vessels. It measures the flow rate around the heart and detects any obstructions in the vessels.

Lead iKOr developer, Professor Adrien Desjardins, UCL Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, said: “The iKOr device is responding to a clinical need – to significantly improve how blood flow in the heart is measured."

Echopoint Medical is committed to revolutionizing the field of cardiovascular diagnostics. Following the successful completion of its 10 patient clinical trial at St Bartholomew’s Hospital (London, UK)  last year, the iKOr system, the company’s proprietary leading-edge solution, is designed to significantly enhance the precision, ease and reliability of coronary flow assessments, facilitating simple, easy to use early intervention and more effective management of heart diseases associated with angina (heart pain) particularly in women who are frequently poorly diagnosed.

The Series A funding round was led by current investors, including Parkwalk Advisors and the UCL Technology Fund (UCLTF), managed by AlbionVC. UCL Business (UCLB) played a crucial role in supporting this round.

Antony Odell, CEO of Echopoint Medical Ltd, expressed his gratitude for the robust support from investors: “This investment is not just a financial milestone; it’s a vote of confidence in our vision to transform interventional cardiology diagnostics and patient care. Our roots as a UCL spinout, combined with the expertise and dedication of our team, place us in a unique position to bring the iKOr system to the forefront of medical technology.”

With this infusion of Series A funding, Echopoint Medical Ltd is poised to successfully navigate the FDA’s stringent approval process, bringing them closer to introducing the iKOr system to healthcare providers and patients across the US. The anticipated launch of the iKOr system in the US market is expected to significantly accelerate adoption of key diagnostic indicators in interventional cardiology, further solidifying Echopoint Medical’s position as a leader in the field.

Neil Cameron, Investment Director at Parkwalk Advisors, said: “Echopoint are operating at the very cutting-edge of medical technologies. We are excited to see them use this latest funding to continue developing their life-changing cardiovascular diagnostic devices, which have the potential to revolutionise the way we catch heart and other cardiovascular disease.”

David Grimm, Partner UCL Technology Fund said: “It’s been great to partner with Echopoint right from their beginnings in the lab at UCL through to leading their Seed round and now supporting their Series A. We’ve been hugely impressed with the team’s ability to rapidly commercialise world leading university research and bring new fibre optic technology to deliver positive outcomes for end patients in the UK. We continue to support the company as they look to enter and scale across the US to help thousands suffering from microvascular disease.”