• Oxford Heartbeat secures £1.5M funding from Innovate UK to supercharge development of next-generation technology to tackle brain aneurysms and save millions to the NHS
• This Innovate UK Biomedical Catalyst (BMC) grant was awarded to Oxford Heartbeat alongside only a score of businesses out of hundreds of applicants
  
• Oxford Heartbeat has to date raised almost £4m for its ground-breaking CE-marked stent technology and this award illustrates the continuing support of their innovative work from funders

London, August 2021 – A £1.5M grant by Innovate UK (innovation agency supported by the UK government) was awarded to Oxford Heartbeat will help extend the power of Oxford Heartbeat’s cutting-edge AI software, PreSize® Neurovascular. The CE-marked software has demonstrated excellent accuracy and aims to support safe and precise surgical decision making for high-risk brain stenting surgeries.

Dr Katerina Spranger, CEO of Oxford Heartbeat said: “This crucial funding will enable Oxford Heartbeat to boost our efforts to further advance PreSize® technology so that doctors have access to better pre-surgical knowledge and patients can benefit from more positive outcomes.”

For this competition, Innovate UK considered applications from 373 organisations, which was approximately three times the number it typically receives. Following a highly competitive multi-stage selection process, Oxford Heartbeat was announced as one of the 18 winners of the BMC Early Stage award, attaining an exceptionally high score of 90% for the proposed project, which was the third highest score among submitted applications.

As Innovation Lead of Innovate UK Biomedical Catalyst, Dr. Michael Kipping, mentioned: “To receive a grant, Oxford Heartbeat had to navigate a two-stage process of written assessment followed by a pitch to our major awards panel comprised of investors, healthcare professionals, academics and industry experts. Oxford Heartbeat clearly articulated a unique, commercially viable approach to an unmet health need. Crucially, it was also apparent that the company had strong visionary leadership and a diverse team with the skills and expertise to deliver a successful project.”

The win illustrates the unwavering support Oxford Heartbeat has received from the BMC, as this is the third BMC award. Previous BMC awards supported Oxford Heartbeat at their infancy to carry out feasibility studies, and hone the Presize® technology to accurately address the existing clinical need. This BMC award will contribute to Oxford Heartbeat augmenting the existing power of PreSize® with a view to expand its use within the NHS and internationally.

About Oxford Heartbeat

Oxford Heartbeat’s vision is a world where every patient and doctor is supported by the most advanced technologies, and successful surgical outcomes are the norm; not the exception. We are transforming this vision into reality by providing clinicians with the cutting-edge technology they need to make life-saving decisions when preparing and executing high-risk surgeries. We strive to be innovative, rigorous, transparent and caring, putting clinicians and patients at the heart of everything we do.

About PreSize® Neurovascular

PreSize® Neurovascular helps clinicians to prepare and more accurately execute minimally invasive brain stenting procedures. Using routine pre-operative scans, clinicians can automatically visualise the patient’s unique vascular anatomy in 3D in real time in PreSize Neurovascular software. PreSize also generates a best-fit stent given the specific patient anatomy, and clinicians can explore different stent sizes/makes in a safe virtual setting, making adjustments to their satisfaction before operating. Accurate visualisation and best-fit device selection before surgery can result in enhanced surgical efficiency, reduced surgical complications and improved patient outcomes.

About Innovate UK

Innovate UK is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), an executive non-departmental body operating with a budget of more than £6 billion, and which is sponsored by the UK Government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Innovate UK works with businesses to develop innovations in science and technology that will drive growth in the UK economy.