Growth money for BoneMRI: a single imaging exam to image all human tissues without radiation.
Utrecht, October 16th, 2018 – Spin-off company of the UMC Utrecht, MRIguidance has received a seed investment round from health-tech investor Health Innovations and a strategic informal investor for the development and the market roll-out of BoneMRI. BoneMRI is a software solution that enables unprecedented 3D visualisation of the bone anatomy with conventional MRI scanners, which until today were mainly used to assess soft tissues. BoneMRI allows for a one-stop-shop in medical imaging; one exam to characterize all human tissues and without making use of harmful radiation. The investment will be used for further clinical validation and market roll-out.
“Like all radiologists, I have been trained with the idea that MRI is mainly suitable for soft tissue imaging and X-ray based techniques are required to visualize bone”, according to Peter Seevinck, co-founder of MRIguidance and inventor of BoneMRI. “But during my work as a scientist in the UMC Utrecht, I was getting more and more convinced that MRI data, when acquired in the right way, contains all the information necessary to also visualize bone. I am very happy that we proved the concept in a clinical setting and with this investment we are now going to bring BoneMRI to the patient.”
For Health Innovations, MRIguidance is the second investment from their Health Innovations Fund III. Dick Sietses, partner at Health innovations says: “The BoneMRI technology will improve the quality of patient care, while at the same time reduce healthcare costs. This, combined with MRIguidance’ strong technology base, integrating AI-technology into their solutions, makes MRIguidance a perfect match for our fund.“
BoneMRI is currently being developed and clinically validated at the UMC Utrecht and several large hospitals in the Netherlands and in Belgium. “The investment gives MRIguidance a great boost and will accelerate our efforts to bring BoneMRI to the patient. We are very happy to get a strong investors team on board.” says Roel Raatgever, CEO of MRIguidance.
**************** About MRIguidance MRIguidance is a spin-off company of UMC Utrecht developing the medical imaging technique BoneMRI. MRIguidance was founded in 2016 by MR physicist Peter Seevinck, image scientist Marijn van Stralen and entrepreneur Roel Raatgever. The first research resulting in the proprietary BoneMRI technology dates back to 2013. MRIguidance is an UtrechtInc graduate company.
About Health Innovations Health Innovations is a seed investment fund that invests in young companies that make healthcare better and more affordable. Health Innovations focuses on innovative care concepts, eHealth, medical technology, Digital Health and Health Services. At the beginning of 2018 Health Innovations started with it’s third fund, Health Innovations Fund III.