London-based Scalpel AI, a medical technology start-up focused on surgical logistics technology, has successfully raised $4.8 million in a funding round.
Surgical Logistics Start-up Raises $4.8M
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The funding round was led by Mercia Ventures, a venture capital investor focused on software, consumer, healthcare, and deep tech. Other investors included private investors and Tensor Ventures.
Scalpel AI is based in London and has an office in Houston. The company’s technology is able to identify and track surgical instruments through a combination of computer vision and machine learning. According to the press release, the funding will allow Scalpel AI to “scale its global operations and roll out its technology with major players in the healthcare supply chain.” Its clients include sterile services, hospitals, and third-party logistics services including U.S. based GlobalMed Logistix.
Scalpel AI can track surgical instruments throughout the supply chain process. It does this by generating a “digital twin” for each instrument throughout its journey from vendor warehouses to operating rooms and back. Scalpel AI is also able to confirm that the correct equipment is on the surgical trays when delivered to the operating room.
Mercia Ventures Investment Manager Lee Lindley commented, “Ensuring that surgical trays contain the right equipment is essential for an effective healthcare system. Existing solutions use simple mechanisms such as barcodes, RFID tags, and manual validation. Scalpel AI’s platform has the potential to transform how surgical trays are managed.”
Lindley continued, “This investment will enable the company to scale internationally and pursue its goal of being recognized as the industry standard. We’re excited to be supporting Yesh and Shah on this journey.”
Yeshwanth Pulijala, Ph.D. and Shahnawaz Ahmed, Ph.D. founded Scalpel AI in 2017. Dr. Pulijala has a Ph.D. in medical visualization and Dr. Ahmed is a specialist in computer vision systems with a Ph.D. in object detection. Their education and experience formed the basis for Scalpel AI, bringing together medicine and technology.
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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