A Cardiff-based company that develops technologies to assist advanced surgical procedures has raised €6m (£5.2m) from new and existing investors.
Alesi Surgical Limited, which develops technology solutions for minimally invasive surgery technologies, has received new investment from Panakes Partners and Earlybird, plus support from existing shareholders IP Group and Finance Wales.
The company has developed Ultravision, which is the world’s first technology to use electrostatic technology to clear the vapour and particulate matter – so called “surgical smoke” – that is generated by modern surgical cutting instruments during abdominal laparoscopic surgery.
Thom Rasche, partner at Earlybird, said: “Obscuring of the surgical view during the laparoscopic procedure is not only cumbersome to surgeons but adds an additional risk to the safety of the procedure and to the staff being exposed to the smoke. Alesi has developed a fabulous, simple and very effective solution to help address these risks.”
In use, the medical device produces a low-energy electrostatic charge and improves visibility for surgeons by eliminating surgical smoke as it is created by the cutting instrument. Minimising exposure to surgical smoke is said to be increasingly important because of concerns over the health risks associated with long-term exposure.
The technology also benefits the patient as it minimises the amount of carbon dioxide gas – used to create a working space inside the abdomen – that a patient is exposed to during the keyhole procedure. Excessive use of carbon dioxide contributes to cardiovascular problems, complications in anaesthesia, post-surgical pain and longer recovery time for the patient.
The new funds will be used to drive commercial expansion of Alesi Surgical and Ultravision into the United States and other key markets worldwide, and to undertake additional research and development around the new Ultravision technology.
The funds have been raised following the recent approval of the company’s Ultravision technology, by the US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and Japanese Ministry of Health, and the commercial traction it is already gaining in Europe and the Middle East.