Collaboration between Rhovica Neuroimaging and M2care for the Advancement of Neurosurgery
Rhovica Neuroimaging was founded in Bern, Switzerland, in 2023 by Martin Hlavica and Thomas Rhomberg, two talented neurosurgeons. Their ambition is to improve the emergency neurocritical treatment of life-threatened patients with severe head trauma or intracranial bleeding leading to increased brain pressure.
They develop an innovative solution the SoNav™ system, which allows for the safe insertion of an extraventricular drainage catheter directly at the patient’s bedside, using integrated sensors and real-time visualization.
December 02, 2024 – Rhovica Neuroimaging AG, an innovative medical technology startup, and M2care, a European venture studio specializing in healthtech, are pleased to announce their partnership.
Rhovica Neuroimaging and M2care have entered into a strong partnership to support the development of the startup and its technology. Through this contractual agreement, M2care provides both financial support as well as operational and strategic entrepreneurial expertise, which will accelerate the development of Rhovica Neuroimaging. Together, Rhovica Neuroimaging and M2care aim to significantly improve patient care and outcomes in neurosurgery.
Neurosurgery is a multi-billion Euro market, with an expected growth rate between 4.5% and 14.2% in the coming years.
Martin Hlavica, CEO and co-founder of Rhovica Neuroimaging, expressed his enthusiasm: “In M2care, we have a partner with an entrepreneurial spirit and solid experience in creating and developing medical technology startups. From our first meetings, we felt a shared desire to significantly impact the care of critically ill neurosurgical patients.”
Florence Thueux, President and Managing Partner at M2care, commented: “We are very happy to work with the Rhovica team. Their determination to find a solution for better surgical intervention convinced us early in the evaluation process.”
Carsten Laue, Managing Partner at M2care, added, “Rhovica’s technology is intuitive for neurosurgeons to use and significantly improves patient safety. The solution is ideally positioned to have a lasting impact on patient care in a growing market.”
This partnership marks an important step towards the commercialization of Rhovica’s innovative solutions, aimed at improving the quality of neurosurgical care worldwide.
About Rhovica Neuroimaging AG
Rhovica Neuroimaging was founded in Bern, Switzerland, in 2023 by Martin Hlavica and Thomas Rhomberg, two talented neurosurgeons, with the ambition to improve the emergency neurocritical treatment of life-threatened patients with severe head trauma or intracranial bleeding leading to increased brain pressure. The team is complemented by chief business officer Blair Fraser, a senior executive with over 35 years of global medical device industry experience and chief technology officer Saeid Kasiri, a biomedical engineer with a proven track record in the development of class II and III medical devices.
The placement of an external ventricular drain (EVD) is one of the most frequently performed neurosurgical procedures to measure and treat increased brain pressure. The insertion of an EVD catheter, which is often done blindly freehand at the patient’s bedside in the emergency room or intensive care unit to save critical time, regularly requires several attempts. Alternatively, the catheter can be inserted in the operating room with dedicated navigation technology. This dilemma of choosing between speed or accuracy in these critically ill patients contributes to poorer treatment outcomes.
To help neurosurgeons in these situations, Rhovica Neuroimaging is developing the innovative SoNav™ system, which is equipped with integrated sensors for real-time visualization allowing a navigated, safe catheter insertion directly at the bedside. This technology will further enable real-time monitoring of the brain ventricles, reducing the number of risky and costly head-CTs. These innovations will improve neurological outcomes, saving time and lives, while reducing overall healthcare costs.
Rhovica Neuroimaging won all three stages of Venture Kick, the Helbling Venture Challenge 2024, and was among the three finalists of the Swiss Technology Award in the Inventors category 2024.
For more information: www.rhovica.com
About M2care
M2care is a European venture studio created by Mérieux Développement and CEA Investissement, specializing in healthtech. M2care founds, develops, and finances innovative projects at early stages of maturity, alongside project leaders. M2care is an essential link between academics, investors, and industry, thanks to its investment and operational deployment capabilities. With an experienced and complementary team of entrepreneurs in residence, a unique international network, and ad-hoc ecosystems built for each project, M2care enables ideas and technologies born in laboratories to become health products brought to market, serving public health improvement and benefiting patients.
For more information: www.m2.care
PRESS CONTACT:
Rhovica Neuroimaging: Martin Hlavica (martin.hlavica@rhovica.com)
M2care: Laurine Grosmollard (laurine.grosmollard@m2.care)
