Iowa City-based medical device company, iotaMotion, has raised $2.1 million in a seed financing round to fuel the development of their novel robotic systems for cochlear implantation surgery.
The iotaMotion technology will enable surgeons to achieve more precise, individualized solutions for patients experiencing various types of hearing loss. IOTA-Soft is the company’s robotic-assisted insertion device, which will allow surgeons to advance cochlear implant electrodes with the precision of robotics. Controlled insertion will allow for less surgical variability in outcomes and results.
“We’ve completed our seed round, raising over $2 million within a few months from friends and family in the Midwest and around the world,” Chris Kaufmann, MD, co-founder of iotaMotion said in an announcement. “The reception and excitement from both the cochlear implant community and strategic investors is a testament to the clear clinical need and the surgeon-centric robotics-assisted systems we are developing. The funds will be used to further our development efforts for the IOTA-Soft robotic-assisted cochlear implant insertion system.”
The company was spun out of the University of Iowa in 2015 by Drs. Chris Kaufmann and Marlan Hansen. Since then, iotaMotion has been the recipient of both, National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health SBIR grants totaling $1.7 million (separate from the $2.1 million seed-round) with the aim of taking its robotic-assisted insertion system technology and developing an implantable system that will allow post-surgical adjustment of cochlear implants.
“We are thrilled to have such strong support for the vision of iotaMotion, and we look forward to building on our work to date,” said Eric B. Timko, Executive Chairman of iotaMotion. “We will be investing in resources to expand our research and development efforts along with the kind of quality and regulatory initiatives that are imperative in medical technology companies.”
Clay & Milk has reached out to iotaMotion for more information about their investment round and will update the story when and if we hear back.