Micrima, a UK-based breast imaging technology spinout from University of Bristol, secured £4.4m ($5.8m) on Tuesday in a round co-led by VC firm Technology Venture Partners.
Technology Venture Partners co-led the round with UK government-backed investment fund Angel CoFund and equity crowdfunding platform Venture Founders, with participation from existing and new angel investors.
Founded in 2006, Micrima has created a whole-breast screen system called Maria that uses radio waves to uncover symptoms of breast cancer.
Radio waves are considered less harmful than conventional radiation-powered mammography imaging and have been shown to effectively spot potential problems in dense tissues.
Micrima will put the capital towards strategic hires and further development of Maria as it prepares to release the technology as a commercial product later in 2018. Maria has been trialled on 400 women in the UK, with further testing scheduled at other Europe-based clinics.
The spinout has now raised a total of £14.2m ($10.7m) in funding, including $3.4m secured in 2016 from University of Bristol Enterprise Fund, managed by investment firm Parkwalk Avisors, as well as Technology Venture Partners, Swarraton Partners and Angel CoFund.
Micrima is also a portfolio company of SetSquared, the enterprise partnership between Bristol, Bath, Exeter, Southampton and Surrey universities.
The spinout had secured $2.4m in 2012 over two tranches from Angel CoFund, YFM Equity Partners and Swarraton Partners as well as assorted angel investors.
Yorkshire Fund Managers, Swarraton and non-profit research charity Nesta had already supplied $3.9m four years earlier.
Nick Simmonds, partner at Technology Venture Partners, said: “The success of this fundraising comes at a pivotal point in the development of Micrima as the company seeks to commercialise the Maria breast imaging system and build out clinician advocacy at key opinion-leading clinics in the UK and Europe.
“We are proud to show our on-going support for the company and the team as they further develop this important technology and we look forward to future success.”
