activ Surgical Secures $45M Series B Funding - Surgical Visualization

Activ Surgical Secures $45 Million in Series B Funding

Activ Surgical, a digital surgery firm headquartered in Boston, announced the completion of a $45 million Series B funding round on Thursday. This financing arrives during a pivotal period for the company’s development.

Advancing Surgical Visualization Technology

Currently, Activ Surgical is focused on the creation of innovative tools designed to enhance a surgeon’s ability to visualize structures previously undetectable. Plans are in place to introduce these advancements to the market in the coming months.

The initial offering is ActivSight, the company’s hardware solution. This device empowers surgeons to perceive elements that are normally invisible, such as blood circulation within the smallest vessels of tissue.

FDA Clearance and Real-Time Visualization

Having received FDA 510(k) clearance in April 2021, ActivSight is designed to integrate seamlessly between any endoscope and a standard white light camera system.

With a single activation, ActivSight can highlight features like blood flow – typically unseen without the use of contrast dyes – with remarkable clarity. Crucially, unlike dye-based methods, ActivSight provides real-time visualization of blood flow, dynamically reflecting changes in tissue color based on circulatory status.

Unique Intraoperative Visualization

“It represents the sole system globally capable of visualizing elements like blood flow intraoperatively, without requiring dye injection,” states CEO Todd Usen.

Expansion Plans and Future Development

This latest funding will primarily support the commercial launch of ActivSight, anticipated in hospital networks across seven states in either the fourth quarter of 2021 or the following year.

Furthermore, the company intends to pursue CE certification, enabling the marketing of ActivSight in seven European countries beginning in 2022. The round will also facilitate the expansion of Activ’s more ambitious, AI-driven projects.

Investor Participation

The funding round was spearheaded by Cota Capital. Seven new investors joined the round, including BAM Elevate, Magnetar Capital, Mint Ventures, Castor Ventures, Dream One Vision, and Nvidia.

To date, Activ Surgical has secured a total of $77 million in funding.

From Robotics to Enhanced Surgical Tools

Activ Surgical initially gained recognition in 2016 for developing a robot capable of performing the first fully autonomous soft tissue suturing procedure. The company’s founder, Peter Kim, possesses a patent related to robot-assisted surgery.

However, the company’s current strategy diverges from a primary focus on robotics.

Empowering Surgeons, Not Replacing Them

“While robots offer advantages, they are currently utilized in approximately 10% of minimally invasive procedures. A robot can extend reach beyond human capabilities, but until now, it lacked the ability to perceive what a human surgeon could see,” explains Usen.

Instead, Activ Surgical is concentrating on tools that augment the skills of surgeons. Usen draws a parallel to installing a rearview camera in a vehicle.

The Future of Surgical Robotics

“A rearview camera reveals what is hidden from direct view, and provides alerts. When robots can identify structures that are imperceptible to humans, that’s when robotic surgery will truly advance. This is the path Activ Surgical is forging, and our collaborating surgeons are enthusiastic about it.”

Clinical Trial Results Anticipated

ActivSight has already undergone testing in an operating room setting. A clinical trial involving 70 patients was conducted at the University of Texas Health Science Center and the University of Buffalo.

The results of these trials are pending publication, with the company expecting to release the data in October, as confirmed by a company PR representative to TechCrunch.

Initial Hospital Deployments

Despite the ongoing data analysis, ActivSight has already received FDA 510(k) clearance and is slated for deployment in several hospital systems this year, including facilities in New York, Buffalo, Texas, Ohio, and Florida.

Data Collection and AI Integration

The initial commercial rollout of ActivSight represents the first phase of Activ Surgical’s broader vision. The company aims to amass a unique dataset of intraoperative information derived from surgeries performed using ActivSight.

This data will then be analyzed by a software suite, ActivInsight, employing machine learning algorithms to identify additional key structures that would otherwise remain hidden from surgeons.

A Unique Data Asset

“We are building the most unique data set in the world,” Usen asserts.

“This allows us to autonomously annotate and identify critical structures, including nerve identification, differentiation between veins and arteries, and other vital anatomical features. This information will be labeled using machine learning and then provided to users of the ActivInsight module.”

Future Prototypes and Funding Impact

The machine learning application is not immediately available. Usen anticipates that ActivInsight prototypes will be utilized in patient care starting in 2022.

This funding round will provide the necessary resources to initiate these crucial steps.