unveiling its next strategic move with Evident Vascular, a startup incubated under its guidance. Evident Vascular has emerged from stealth mode with ambitious plans to introduce an intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) platform infused with cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
This debut comes on the heels of Evident securing $35 million in series A funding from Vensana Capital, as announced on Tuesday.
At the helm of Evident Vascular is CEO and co-founder Howard Rosen, who boasts an impressive three-decade career in the cardiovascular device industry. Rosen’s journey began with a 21-year tenure at Boston Scientific, followed by roles at Flagship Pioneering’s BG Medicine, Haemonetics, Intact Vascular, and its spinout Vesper Medical, both of which were acquired by Philips. Complementing Rosen are his co-founders, Chief Product Officer Danielo Piazza and Chief Technology Officer Patrick Phillips, Ph.D. Their extensive careers have involved the development of technologies now utilized by major medtech giants, including Johnson & Johnson, Siemens Healthineers, and Philips.
Evident’s innovation centers around enhancing existing IVUS technology, which involves affixing a tiny ultrasound wand to the tip of a catheter and threading it through a patient’s blood vessels. Positioned at the desired location, it emits sound waves to generate internal images of specific veins and arteries.
However, Evident’s unique approach incorporates AI into the equation to elevate image quality and streamline the scan and analysis processes. This innovation is expected to enable Evident’s technology to excel in imaging not only coronary arteries, as traditional IVUS systems do for heart procedures, but also peripheral blood vessels. The addition of AI is aimed at meeting the growing demand for high-quality imaging tools in peripheral vascular procedures, an area that witnessed over 2 million procedures in 2020. This number is projected to surge beyond 3 million by 2030. Notably, peripheral arterial and venous diseases now represent the largest and fastest-growing segment of IVUS usage in the United States.
According to Evident’s CEO, Howard Rosen, legacy IVUS platforms were originally designed with a primary focus on coronary procedures, which limited their suitability for peripheral vascular applications due to issues related to image quality, interpretation, and workflow. Evident’s pioneering platform is set to revolutionize intravascular imaging, catering to peripheral vascular procedures with superior image interpretation guidance and streamlined clinical workflows. This development is poised to address the long-standing limitations of IVUS, thus advancing the field of medical imaging.
