OneProjects co-founders Fionn Lahart (left) and Christoph Hennersperger [Photo courtesy of OneProjects]
Irish-German cardiac imaging startup OneProjects today announced $8 million in Series A2 funding and two grants totaling $9 million.
The company will use the new funds to complete product development, conduct clinical trials, gain FDA clearance and prepare for U.S. commercialization of the first product developed from its proprietary 4D cardiac imaging platform, Verafeye.
The Series A2 financing was led by imec.xpand, with participation from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund and existing investors LSP and Atlantic Bridge Ventures, which led the startup’s Series A1 funding in 2020.
OneProjects said it secured a $6 million grant from the Irish government’s Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund and a $3 million grant from the EIC Accelerator.
OneProjects aims to improve catheter ablation treatment of atrial fibrillation (AFib) and other cardiac arrhythmias. It also envisions one day use its technology to benefit structural heart procedures. Verafeye uses a catheter-based sensor, advanced imaging and machine learning to capture 360°, high-resolution live imagery of the beating heart and determine where tissue has been fully ablated.
A single catheter ablation procedure can eliminate persistent atrial fibrillation in roughly 50% of cases while the success rate for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation is somewhat higher, according to University of Michigan Health. Some patients require multiple ablation procedures.
OneProjects CEO Fionn Lahart said his company can enhance catheter ablation outcomes by providing better information to physicians. “Our 4D imaging platform improves upon currently available imaging by providing high-precision navigation, procedural planning pre-ablation and expansive real-time imagery of the heart and tissue during the procedure,” Lahart said in a statement.
The company also believes that its proprietary cardiac imaging technology has potential beyond AFib. The technology could “improve any cardiac procedure that can benefit from precise navigation, detailed 4D anatomical imaging and tissue assessment within the heart,” Lahart continued.
Lahart founded OneProjects with co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Christoph Hennersperger in 2017. The company is based in Dublin, Ireland, and Munich, Germany.
OneProjects also announced the addition of Steven Girouard as an independent board director. Girouard was formerly president and CEO of Securus Medical Group — which made a thermal body mapping device for use during cardiac ablation procedures — before it was acquired in 2018 by Boston Scientific.