Siren Secures Funding for Diabetic Foot Ulcer Detection Socks

Siren Secures $9.5 Million to Advance Diabetic Foot Ulcer Prevention

Entrepreneur Ran Ma, following research involving burn patients and veterans, initially crafted a sensor-equipped sock designed to identify foot ulcers. Her company, Siren, has now successfully obtained $9.5 million in funding.

A leading investment of $8 million came from Mölnlycke Health Care, earmarked for the continued development and wider implementation of Siren’s product aimed at preventing diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs). To date, the company’s total funding reaches $43 million.

The Scale of the Problem and Siren’s Solution

Globally, approximately 830 million individuals are living with diabetes. Over one-third of these individuals are susceptible to developing debilitating foot ulcers during their lifetime.

These ulcers can result in serious health issues, and in some instances, necessitate amputation. Siren Socks are engineered to detect early indicators of potential foot injuries.

The socks utilize sensors to monitor a patient’s foot temperature, identifying hotspots that suggest the formation of ulcers in real-time.

Siren asserts that continuous data collection through its product can lower the risk of DFUs by as much as 68% and reduce amputations by 83%.

From Biomedical Engineering to a Functional Prototype

“My academic background includes biomedical engineering studies at both Johns Hopkins and Northwestern University,” Ma explained to TechCrunch.

During her studies, she contributed to a wound lab, focusing on “developing a biomask for facial regeneration in burn victims and war veterans.”

Ma twice interrupted her formal education – first at Northwestern, and later at Copenhagen Business School – to pursue her entrepreneurial vision.

She initially constructed the first Siren Sock prototype by hand, integrating sensors sourced from RadioShack and an Arduino board obtained at Maker Faire.

“Subsequently, I collaborated with a tailor in Chinatown to create a second prototype, incorporating multiple sensors and establishing the foundation for continuous temperature monitoring,” she stated.

Growth and Strategic Partnerships

In 2017, Siren achieved recognition by winning TechCrunch’s Hardware Battlefield contest at Disrupt.

Since then, the company has garnered investment from firms including Khosla Ventures, Founders Fund, DCM, Manta Ray Ventures, and Aloft, culminating in an $18 million Series B funding round.

The addition of Mölnlycke as a strategic investor marks a significant step, facilitating increased product availability in both European and U.S. markets through this new partnership.