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闯补辫补苍鈥檚 , (WiL) out of Palo Alto and by IGV (Innovation Growth Ventures), and others participated in the financing. Combined with the company鈥檚 last raise of $9 million in August 2018, AI Medical Service has now brought in about $57 million in venture funding since its inception in September 2017.

In its own words, the company 鈥渄evelops AI technology that brings together the wisdom of Japanese endoscopic specialists and supports endoscopic examinations of gastrointestinal organs, such as the esophagus, stomach, small intestine and large intestine.鈥� Its goal is to more quickly and efficiently diagnose gastric cancer.

Early diagnosis of gastric cancer is very difficult since the symptoms are often similar to gastritis, said Dr. , CEO of AI Medical Services.

鈥淎s a result, the false negative rate is estimated to be 15 percent to 30 percent,鈥� he added. 鈥淥ur solution is backed up by AI-trained analyses of real-time endoscopy images to support doctors in detecting lesions that are difficult to find by the naked eye.鈥�

The 66-person company said it plans to use the new capital to promote its clinical trials, do some hiring, and further its development pipeline, as well as invest in equipment and an overseas expansion. Like any other medical technology company, AI Medical鈥檚 end goal is to get regulatory approval and — wouldn鈥檛 this be wonderful — 鈥渢o save millions of people around the world鈥� after launching its product. Its plan as of now is to launch it in 2021.

Since the company鈥檚 initial product is focused on gastric cancer, the company plans to target other Asian nations first, such as Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia, where it says 鈥渟tomach cancer prevalence is very high, and as many as 600,000 patients are dying of it every year.鈥�

鈥淲e are also currently looking at opportunities in the U..S and Canadian markets, where the number of Asian immigrants has increased to nearly a quarter of the total population,鈥� Tada said.

, general partner of WiL, said in a statement that the endoscopy field is facing many challenges including 鈥渓ong hours required for analysis and a shortage of human resources.鈥�

To address that, AI Medical Service partners with about 92 medical institutions in Japan and has built up a library that includes a large number of endoscopic images and thesis data.

鈥淚 believe AI Medical Service will be one of the world-leading companies, given the high barriers to entry into the market in which there are few players,鈥� Matsumoto said.

, chief investment officer with the Sony Innovation Fund by IGV, said the fund was particularly impressed by the company鈥檚 鈥渆xceptional software engineering鈥� and 鈥渁uthoritative鈥� doctors with backgrounds in endoscopies.

鈥淎t IGV, we invest in startups in areas such as AI and robotics, who are transforming high growth industries including healthcare and medical,鈥� he wrote via email. 鈥淲e see tremendous potential in companies using AI, such as AI Medical Services, in greatly improving medical procedures and the healthcare/medical industry as a whole.鈥�

The investment marks the third to date out of Sony鈥檚 Innovation Growth Fund, a joint fund that recently launched in partnership with . It also marks the first health/medical tech investment by IGV. Sony Innovation Fund, however, has made several investments in the health/medical tech space from its first fund including and in the US, along with , , and in Japan.

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One Hoboken, New Jersey-based startup wants to step into that process and has just raised $10 million from an investor who believes the company鈥檚 product has merit.

The startup, , has developed software to help reduce readmissions via remote patient monitoring and video visits. The company has just raised that $10 million in a 鈥済rowth round鈥� from out of Princeton, N.J. The financing brings the company鈥檚 to $17.5 million, according to its 附近上门 profile.

CEO developed the idea for the company in 2011 as a 24-year-old graduate student at when his grandmother was readmitted to the hospital for heart failure.

鈥淪o I convinced two friends to start the company and write all the software,鈥� Bauer said. Not only is the company鈥檚 goal to help improve patient outcomes, but also to help hospitals protect themselves from being penalized for having a patient readmitted.

Health Recovery Solutions claims its platform, which includes software, predictive analytics and hardware/bluetooth devices, is cutting down on 30-day readmissions to healthcare facilities, especially those related to chronic illness, by as much as 80 percent.

Today, 140 medical centers including Penn Medicine, John Hopkins Medicine, WellCare and Henry Ford Health System use Health Recovery Solutions, and the company has monitored about 100,000 patients to date, according to Bauer.

鈥淲e鈥檙e using this $10 million for further product growth and also to help us reach our 1 million patient goal,鈥� he told 附近上门 News. 鈥淲e鈥檒l be investing heavily in product development and in account managers so we can meet demand.鈥�

Bauer expects the company to nearly double its revenue this year to $11 million compared to $6.3 million at the end of last year. Health Recovery Solutions, which has landed on the Inc 5000 list multiple times, currently employs 85 people with plans to double that over the next two years.

I asked Bauer how his startup does remote patient monitoring better than the slew of other companies in the space. To him, it lies in the fact that it鈥檚 cloud-based.

鈥淎 lot of remote monitoring companies tend to be more hardware-centric and then move into telemonitoring,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e were software-focused in the beginning and I believe that makes us more nimble. We have software and tablets to engage patients, many of whom are elderly, and apps for family members.鈥�

While Edison has invested in a number of healthtech companies, including , and , among others, its backing of Health Recovery Solutions marks its first telehealth investment.

, operating partner at Edison Partners, said his firm believes the company鈥檚 patient monitoring platform 鈥渟olves a critical problem in healthcare.鈥�

鈥淗ospital readmission rates are significantly higher than they could be because many recently discharged patients are not provided with the proper education to improve their condition or tools for clinicians to keep track of their progress,鈥� he wrote via email. 鈥淭he company provides a clear ROI to its customers healthcare systems and home health agencies鈥攁s well as to patients.鈥�

Health Recovery Solutions is one of many telemedicine companies ranging in category from urgent care to fertility to cannabis that have landed significant capital over the past few years, as Savannah Dowling reported in March.

Take a look at some notable companies that have raised since the beginning of 2017:

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