Quadlytics, which is developing an epileptic seizure warning device, announced on 4 November that it had secured ¥600m (around $3.8m) in a Series B funding round. The round combined equity and convertible bonds.
Founded in 2018 as a spin-off from three universities—Kyoto University, Nagoya University and Kumamoto University—the company is headquartered in Kyoto, with offices in Kobe and Melbourne, Australia.
Warning of seizures with a wearable ECG and a smartphone
Epilepsy is a condition in which disturbances in the electrical activity of nerve cells in the brain cause symptoms such as convulsions and loss of consciousness. According to the Japan Epilepsy Association, around one in 100 people has epilepsy.
Because seizures strike without warning, there have long been efforts to monitor the physical condition of people with epilepsy. Beyond Quadlytics, the Embrace wearable developed by Empatica of the US detects seizures and alerts carers.
In Quadlytics’ system, users with epilepsy wear an electrocardiograph (ECG) that monitors changes in their autonomic nervous system. Combined with a machine-learning algorithm, the system predicts an oncoming seizure and sends a warning to the user’s smartphone several minutes in advance. Judging from its website and the Series B announcement, the product is still some way from market.
According to the same announcement, the company will carry out research and development at its bases in Japan and Australia. It aims to obtain regulatory approval in Australia and reimbursement under the country’s National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), and is also looking ahead to expansion into North America.
CEO Hayashi vows to “strongly drive” real-world adoption
Investors in the equity portion of the Series B include JP LIFE NEXT1 Investment Limited Partnership, a fund affiliated with Japan Post Insurance.
The proceeds will go towards research and development, international expansion and business operations.
“For epilepsy, in which hard-to-predict seizures can impose all kinds of constraints on daily life, we will strongly drive the real-world adoption of this technology as an innovative solution that can help avoid seizure-related injuries and accidents, reduce medical costs, and improve the quality of life (QoL) of patients and their families,” said Kohei Hayashi, CEO of Quadlytics.
