Surgical software company Cydar Medical has raised £9.3 million Series A funding and appointed a new chair.
Founded in 2012, Cambridge-based Cydar uses AI to transform the way information is provided to clinicians undertaking image-guided minimally invasive surgery. Its first product, Cydar EV Maps, is being used at leading hospitals across the globe to optimise endovascular MIS procedures.
The product creates a patient-specific 3D map of soft tissue, providing an integrated solution for procedure planning, intra-operative navigation and post-procedure review.
The AI and automation of processes within the novel software have been shown to increase clinician confidence and reduce procedure times, reduce radiation exposure for patients and the clinical team and improve clinical workflow efficiencies.
The device is certified in the EU and UK, as well as by the US Food and Drug Administration.
The round, which included a £3m cornerstone investment by Pembroke Venture Capital Trust plus funds from existing shareholders and new investors including Downing LLP, will be used to advance its artificial intelligence surgical maps platform and bolster commercial expansion.
This includes the planned release of the first version of Cydar EV Intelligent Maps in H1 2023, which will enable clinicians planning their MIS cases to compare patient anatomy with prior cases undertaken globally and will, over time, provide predictive procedure planning capabilities.
The goal is to allow patients, regardless of geographical location, to benefit from access to the experience of the world’s leading clinicians globally.
Andrew Wolfson, CEO of Pembroke Investment Managers, and Dr Nigel Pitchford, head of healthcare ventures at Downing LLP, have joined Cydar Medical’s board as non-executive directors.
Lord Mervyn Davies, who has served as chairman since January 2017, will step down from the board alongside Dr Franz B. Humer, who has served as a NED since March 2017.
Former US Navy fighter bomber pilot Ken Hitchner is the new chair.
“We are focused on improving patient outcomes by providing an integrated solution of pre-operative planning, intra-operative navigation and post-operative review for a range of procedures, using the power of AI to better inform care decisions,” said CEO Paul Mussenden.
“This latest funding round will enable us to accelerate our vision of using AI to bring novel integrated solutions to every step of the patient journey in image guided MIS. Feedback from our clinicians illustrates that these capabilities increase their confidence at every stage of the patient pathway.”
Hitchner was a member of the Goldman Sachs global management committee and chairman and CEO of Asia Pacific, excluding Japan, from 2013 to 2019. Prior to this he was Goldman Sachs’ global head of healthcare banking and global co-head of TMT banking.
He is currently chairman of HH&L, a healthcare-focused specialty acquisition company listed on the NYSE.
“The last five years have been transformational for Cydar and I step down leaving the company with a strong management team, a truly innovative platform in image guided MIS, an exciting growth strategy and a supportive shareholder base,” said Lord Davies of Abersoch.
“I am very optimistic about the future for Cydar and am leaving the business in trusted hands under Ken’s leadership.”