Heart Health Intelligence scored $2.2 million in seed funding to develop its connected toilet seat aimed at collecting cardiac data points.

This new infusion of cash was led by Bemis Manufacturing Company, with participation from LaunchNY, RIT Venture Fund, Tech Coast Angels, Excell Partners and Impact Capital of New York. Bemis Manufacturing will be teaming up with the startup to produce the seats. 

WHAT THEY DO

The Rochester, New York-based startup is focused on developing the Heart Seat, which combines a toilet seat with a cardiovascular monitoring system. Patients can use the tech and have their heart rate, blood pressure, cardiac output, ECG and blood oxygenation checked.

The tool is designed to go into homes, but the data can be used in various ways. The data can be sent to families, caregivers and healthcare providers – or to patients with heart failure. Additionally, the seat can detect deterioration and send out alerts. 

Currently the tool is still under development. However, last year the company teamed up with the University of Rochester Medical to test the tech. The results from this study were published in JMIR and found that, over an eight-week period, the system demonstrated clinical-grade accuracy for measurements of blood pressure, stroke volume and blood oxygenation when compared with their respective gold standards.

WHAT IS IT FOR? 

The new funds will be used to help the technology go through the process of FDA clearance, then get it up and running for commercialization.

MARKET SNAPSHOT

Individuals are increasingly beginning to monitor heart health outside the home. One of the most popular ways to do this is through wearable technology. In 2018, Apple landed FDA clearance for both an atrial fibrillation-detecting algorithm and an ECG that will be built into the company's Series 4 Apple Watch. 

In terms of clinical-grade technology, just last week Swiss startup Aktiia scored $6.1 million to bring its continuous-blood-pressure-monitoring bracelet to market. 

ON THE RECORD 

“We are going to make a tangible difference in the lives of patients and healthcare providers,” Nicholas Conn, Heart Health Intelligence CEO, said in a statement. “The strong partnerships we are forming now continue to add to our momentum and I’m incredibly excited for all the good that our technology has the potential do.”