Siloton, a Bristol-based healthtech company, has secured £860,000 in funding for its innovative eye imaging chip technology.
- The funds will accelerate the commercial roll-out of their device designed to address common retinal diseases.
- Siloton’s technology compresses bulky equipment into a chip smaller than a £1 coin, potentially saving the NHS £1 billion annually.
- Investments from Evenlode Impact Investments and others bring Siloton’s total funding to £1.7 million.
- The company aims to market its Akepa OCT chip by 2025, promising affordable home health monitoring.
Siloton, a pioneering healthtech firm located in Bristol, has successfully obtained £860,000 in a new funding round. This capital will be crucial in advancing the company’s groundbreaking eye imaging chip technology, which is gaining attention for its potential to significantly impact the way retinal diseases are diagnosed and monitored.
The newly acquired funds are earmarked for the commercial deployment of Siloton’s device. Notably, the device condenses heavy and costly equipment into a miniature chip, no larger than a £1 coin. By doing so, Siloton claims it could offer substantial savings to the NHS, potentially reducing costs by over £1 billion annually. Additionally, this technology allows patients to potentially monitor their eye health from home, thus enhancing the convenience and accessibility of healthcare.
The financial boost comes from a variety of investors, including Evenlode Impact Investments and members of South East Angels, along with the Francis Crick Institute and other stakeholders. Combined with the support from an Innovate UK Biomedical Catalyst grant, Siloton’s cumulative funding now totals £1.7 million, underlining the confidence investors have in the company’s innovative approach.
Dr. Alasdair Price, the CEO of Siloton, expressed enthusiasm about reaching what he considers a pivotal moment for the technology. His vision is to transition from research and development (R&D) to full product development swiftly, leveraging the momentum created by this financial injection. The team at Siloton is preparing to introduce their Akepa optical coherence tomography (OCT) chip to the market by 2025, aiming to be the first to capture an OCT image of a living eye using such compact technology.
Dr. Price emphasizes the growing population of individuals afflicted with retinal diseases and the urgent need for more affordable and accessible diagnostic solutions. He posits that the Akepa technology will be instrumental in providing precision and efficiency in eye care, potentially mitigating the incidence of preventable blindness, significantly cutting healthcare costs, and alleviating the burden on overstretched eye clinics.
Siloton’s innovative eye imaging technology stands poised to transform retinal disease diagnostics, promising cost savings and improved healthcare access.
