University of the West of Scotland's first spinout will deliver ultrasound sensors with the help of a seed round featuring the devolved government-owned Scottish Investment Bank.

Novosound, a UK-based ultrasound sensor developer and the first spinout of University of the West of Scotland, has secured £1.5m ($2m) in a seed round led by venture capital firm Par Equity.

The round featured Scottish Investment Bank, a subsidiary of government-owned economic development agency Scottish Enterprise, as well as VC firm Gabriel Venture Partners, Kelvin Capital, EOS Technology Investing Syndicate and Investing Women.

Novosound develops ultrasound sensors for purposes such as inspecting industrial infrastructure, conducting medical scans and powering wearable devices.

The sensors are capable of withstanding extremely high temperatures, potentially enabling inspection of critical infrastructure such as nuclear power or petrochemical facilities without first needing to cool the plant’s pipelines.

Novosound hopes to finalise development contracts and production orders for its technology, having already held talks with unnamed industrial companies. It will initially target the medical imaging sector.

David Hughes, head of ultrasound imaging research at UWS’s Institute of Thin Films, Sensors and Imaging, co-founded Novosound and is now the company’s chief technology officer. Hughes is joined by Richard Cooper, who becomes chief executive.

Cooper previously co-founded University of Strathclyde gas monitoring technology spinout Cascade Technologies, which was acquired by industrial systems conglomerate Emerson in 2014.

Hughes said: “The manufacturing of ultrasound sensors has not changed in more than four decades, limiting their effectiveness in certain industrial settings. Our revolutionary sensors enable continuous, safe monitoring of petrochemical infrastructure.”