Brainomix, a UK-based imaging diagnostics software spinout from University of Oxford, secured £7m ($9.8m) on Tuesday from backers including Oxford University Innovation (OUI) Fund, owned by the university’s tech transfer office, OUI.
The round was led by Parkwalk Advisors, a fund management arm of commercialisation firm IP Group. Chimera Partners and Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, a corporate venturing vehicle of pharmaceutical developer Boehringer Ingelheim, also took part.
Founded in 2010, Brainomix has designed artificial intelligence-powered diagnostics software that helps flag up stroke symptoms from CT scans so that eligible patients can receive treatment promptly. The technology acts an automated version of the Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score (Aspects), an imaging assessment tool for stroke diagnosis typically administered manually.
Brainomix was co-founded by the inventor of Aspects, Alastair Buchan, who leads the cerebral ischaemia laboratory in the Radcliffe Department of Medicine at Oxford. The cash will support Brainomix’s entry into international markets as it targets further business for its imaging and workflow software products.
The spinout had previously disclosed $3.9m in funding, including $2m from a 2014 round led by Mark Jaffray of Chimera Partners that featured Parkwalk Advisors and University of Oxford Isis Fund, a vehicle launched by Parkwalk and OUI.
Parkwalk and Chimera then co-led Brainomix’s $1.9m round in 2016, before Parkwalk returned with a contribution of unspecified size from its Opportunities EIS vehicle in February this year.
Frank Kalkbrenner, managing director of Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, said: “Brainomix is a cutting-edge technology company with superior expertise in innovative stroke care.
“Their e-Aspects solution significantly supports physicians in the demanding acute care setting and is a step forward for fast and consistent stroke diagnosis.”
