Tech start-up Alertgy has secured an initial $1.2 million in funding to develop non-invasive diabetes blood glucose monitoring technology.
The funding raised in the seed round will be used towards further product development, in sensor and system miniaturisation, testing, optimisation and to conduct a pilot study at Cleveland Clinic at their world headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio. This study will be completed in early 2019.
The Florida-based firm’s technology can monitor biological changes including glucose levels without invasive techniques that need direct contact with bodily fluid.
Mark Rippen, CEO of Alertgy, who had tried to find a way for his wife to have better means to monitor her diabetes, said: “Alertgy will perform a pilot study on a dozen diabetic patients at the Cleveland Clinic, marking an important milestone for Alertgy to demonstrate the validity of the non-invasive glucometer technology.
“Although we are currently focused on getting our dielectric sensor technology to the diabetes monitoring market first; the overarching application of this technology is as a sensor platform that can measure other medically useful molecules that are ‘tell tales’ for other diseases in parallel with glucose.’’
Among the financial contributors who invested in the seed round was Dr. John Burd, who has joined Alertgy’s board of directors. Dr. Burd is the founder and previous CEO of Dexcom, which operates in the continuous glucose monitoring market.
Dr. Burd said: “Alertgy is on the brink of truly revolutionising the diabetes space with their non-invasive technology.”
Other investments came from various strategic partners who will be instrumental in the future as Alertgy grows and reaches customers both domestically and internationally.