PulseMedica

More than 500 million people worldwide suffer from eye disease. Conditions like glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy can be debilitating for sufferers. For some, there are no effective treatments available and in extreme cases, they can lead to blindness. Edmonton-based PulseMedica is changing that by leveraging proven advances in image-guided laser delivery to develop platform technology for treatments that can be applied to multiple conditions. The company's is the only technology that can examine and treat any part of the eye.

PulseMedica’s platform integrates next-generation femtosecond laser technology, allowing for surgical treatment of conditions such as VMT, floaters, glaucoma and dry-stage age-related macular degeneration (AMD). For sufferers of diabetic retinopathy and AMD, for example, patients often have to get monthly injections. PulseMedica’s technology can drastically reduce that. Its solution brings various technologies together into a single platform that can give doctors the power to examine, diagnose and treat patients with a single device. With this solution, more patients can be helped and treatments can be reduced, creating huge savings for the Canadian healthcare system. This technology will be a life-changing solution for millions of people who suffer from eye disease.

During his PhD studies and early days in the lab, founder and CEO Nir Katchinskiy always had an entrepreneurial vision and endeavoured to get his work commercialized so it could make an impact on the lives of real people. Not seeing anything that existed like this in the world, he built the technology himself. The startup was able to advance further after joining the Creative Destruction Lab-Rockies, which helped raise funds and receive important mentorship and advisement.

With collaboration and support from the University of Calgary and the University of Alberta, PulseMedica completed pre-clinical studies in 2021. Investment from UCeed has helped the the company to get closer to launching human studies which it plans to begin in 2022. This will help demonstrate the accuracy and safety of their technology.

“The UCeed program is a great initiative for early-stage technology companies raising capital in Alberta," says Katchinskiy. "The due diligence process for investment is very detailed and helps startups in getting prepared for raising capital from sophisticated venture capital firms in subsequent rounds.”

Visit PulseMedica's website for more information.

PulseMedica has received investment from UCeed, a venture philanthropy fund accelerating UCalgary and community-based startup companies to advance problem-solving research, create jobs and fuel the economy. A key program in the UCalgary innovation ecosystem, UCeed bridges the gap between innovation, demonstration and commercialization, and is managed by UCalgary’s knowledge-transfer and business incubator, Innovate Calgary.

UCeed Health Fund is supported by the generosity of the River Fund at the Calgary Foundation and its mission to build a healthy and vibrant community where everyone belongs.