This Imaging And Robotic Platform Plans To Revolutionize Healthcare

By Srivatsa KR

Entrepreneur Asia Pacific — Though magnetic resonance imaging—or popularly known as MRI—is widely accepted as the most accurate method of screening and treatment guidance, the current standard of MRI machines is fairly impractical. Expensive to acquire and maintain, requiring dedicated facility upgrades, and limited by extensive safety constraints and robotics compatibility issues, conventional MRI machines are available to use only at select locations. This leads to long waiting lists for patients, which is much more than a mere inconvenience; in the case of cancer, early detection is critical to improving the chances of recovery.

Sensing the need, Promaxo—a medical technology company—plans to enter the space to transform the field of MRI for disease screening and intervention.

Founded in 2016 by Dr Amit Vohra, Promaxo has developed a portable MRI device capable of achieving the same results as conventional MRI machines at the fraction of the cost and with increased ease-of-use and patient comfort. Promaxo’s MRI is designed to be used in a standard physician’s office, without the need for extensive safety procedures or a dedicated infrastructure for housing and maintaining the unit.

In addition, Promaxo has successfully scaled down the MRI machine. The company is also developing a robotic system which enables needle-guided interventions directly under live MR image guidance, in OR settings or even in a physician’s office.

Conventional MRI machines, usually, are constructed in such a way that no intervention can take place during a scan. The MRI results are therefore used merely as a reference when planning the procedure, rather than as a live preview, as it were. This MRI machine, meanwhile, is compatible with conventional robotics, opening up a range of possibilities for live MRI-guided interventions, including biopsies, treatment planning, robotic surgeries, radiation therapy, ablative treatments and drug delivery.

To date, Promaxo has raised more than $15 million in dilutive funding, and the underlying technology has been awarded over $9 million in NSF and NIH grants. Currently, the company plans to raise $40 million in Series B funding, with a view to use the capital for a clinical and commercial launch of the MRI system in the US and further development of artificial intelligence and robotic systems compatible with the MRI scanner.