Hand-held scanner images the bladder

Privately held automated wireless medical device companydBMEDx (Denver, CO, USA) has raised $1.1m through a sale of common stock, the company's second successful capital raise.

The proceeds will be used to complete development of the company's first product, the Benchmark Bladder System, a fully automated and non-invasive battery-powered hand-held ultrasound system for imaging the bladder.

Bladder volume measurement is a well-established metric used in the diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of medical conditions, including urinary tract infections (UTI), the second most common type of infection in the body. UTI's account for about 8.1m visits to health-care providers each year and over $1.6n in annual medical costs.

"We are very pleased with the level of interest in dBMEDx as evidenced by the rapid closure of our second round of funding," said David Shine, CEO of dBMEDx. "The company is now well-positioned to bring the first device in our pipeline through FDA clearance and move toward initial revenue."

The annual market for automated bladder measurement devices is currently estimated at $150m with a history of steady growth.

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