Based on research conducted at the University of Nebraska system, the company produces a small, self-contained surgical robot.
Virtual Incision, a US-based medical device maker spun out of the University of Nebraska system, has secured $11.2m in a round led by venture capital firm Bluestem Capital.
A range of existing investors has returned for the round, though the company has only named VC firm PrairieGold Venture Partners.
Virtual Incision has developed a tiny self-contained surgical robot that is inserted in a patient’s abdomen through a small incision. The robot enables minimally invasive surgery without the need for an operating theatre
The technology is based on research conducted by Dmitry Oleynikov, professor of surgery at University of Nebraska Medical Centre, and Shane Farritor, professor of engineering at University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Virtual Incision will use the new funding to conduct a feasibility study of its device’s potential uses in treatments for conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease, colon cancer and Crohn’s disease.
Bluestem and PraireGold previously led a $2m series A round in 2010. The company also secured $535,000 in seed funding in 2006, according to a regulatory filing.
In 2008, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of Nebraska Medical Centre, the US Army and Nasa provided a $6m grant.
