Monday, December 15, 2008

BioVentures leads $3.3M funding of Rcadia

By Marc Songini

Israel-based blood vessel image analysis software maker Rcadia Medical Imaging Ltd. has closed a $3.3 million investment round led by Cambridge-based BioVentures Investors, with participation from 20/20 HealthCare Partners LLC, based in Boston.

Rcadia’s lead product is its COR Analyzer software, that enables quick triage for patients suffering from chest pain. The cash raised in this round will pay for the full commercial launch of the COR Analyzer and the creation of a North American sales and marketing office, Rcadia officials said. The company has cleared the COR Analyzer with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration already.

The COR Analyzer was developed by Israel-based image processing scientists. The COR software can find severe lesions in the major coronaries without requiring manual processing, stated Rcadia. It also claimed that doctors can use it to quickly separate which patients require more evaluation for coronary artery disease and release others who don’t. The system makes emergency work flows more efficient, while ensuring patients that need extensive heart therapies get their treatments as rapidly as possible.

Rcadia also announced that Peter Feinstein, a general partner in BioVentures Investors, joined its board of directors. Alex Norbash, chairman of radiology at the Boston University Medical Campus, is now also a board member. 

BioVentures Investors has three venture funds for the commercial development of life sciences and health-care technologies. It currently has more than $145 million under management.