FEops closes €1.3m investment to commercialise aortic valve preoperative planning system

19 January 2015

Ghent-based FEops, a pioneer in the field of patient-specific 3D simulations for cardiovascular interventions, has secured €1.3 million series A financing round, led by Capricorn Venture Partners and PMV.

The funding will be used to support the launch of FEops’ first product, TAVIguide, in key markets in Europe and the US. TAVIguide is a cloud-based pre-operative planning service for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI). Part of the funds will be dedicated to advance clinical development of the technology and diversify the pre-operative planning services offered to include additional cardiovascular interventions.

Peter Mortier, CTO of FEops, said, “FEops’ TAVIguide technology will help cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons improve pre-operative Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation planning and further enhance the safety and efficacy of TAVI procedures. While current TAVI planning relies on pre-operative imaging such as echography or computed tomography (CT), accurate measurements of the pre-operative patient anatomy are insufficient to avoid complications.

"By combining pre-operative CT imaging with advanced computer simulations, our clinical evidence clearly shows that the TAVIguide technology can predict how a certain medical device will interact with a specific patient. Based on these insights, the physician gets a better view on the device-patient interaction, prior to the intervention, thus allowing optimal personalized device selection and risk management.”

Matthieu De Beule, CEO of FEops, added, “The current series A financing round enables us to bring this novel technology as a cloud service from the bench to the bedside and paves the way for developing a portfolio of physics-based simulation planning tools for other cardiovascular procedures. We appreciate the support and trust of a syndicate of strong investors and are pleased to welcome Marc Lambrechts and Alexandra Tolia to our Board of Directors.”

Dr Alexandra Tolia, Senior Investment Manager at PMV, commented: “Through our Flanders Care Invest fund we aim exactly at nourishing entrepreneurship to stimulate breakthrough innovations in all aspects of healthcare. We are convinced that the patient-centric tools developed by FEops are uniquely positioned to advance cardiovascular practice and our healthcare in general.”

Source: FEops.