Occuity exceeds £1.8m crowdfunding target

Medical technology start-up, Occuity, has successfully exceeded its £1.8m investment target to support the development of non-invasive contactless optical measurement devices.

The company reached its investment goal just 24-hours after launching its crowdfunding campaign.

Having met its target, Occuity said it plans to ‘overfund’ in order to further accelerate the development of its devices, which it said could be used to help detect the early signs of chronic health conditions.

Founded in 2019, Occuity has patented a contactless technology to obtain precise measurements from the eye. The company aims to use this technology to bring a range of medical devices to market for ophthalmic examinations, diabetes management, and pre-diabetes screening. In the longer-term, the company hopes to use the technology in the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease.

Funding from this round of investment is set to be used to continue to build the Occuity team, which has already grown from 10 people in December 2020 to a team of 35. The company aims to employ 100 staff by 2023.

Commenting on the successful campaign, CEO and co-founder, Dr Dan Daly, said the funding would “allow us to accelerate the development of our new optical screening and monitoring devices that aim to detect the early signs of chronic health conditions by scanning the human eye.”

Aimed at the optometry market, Occuity’s first device, the PM1 Pachymeter, is designed to measure corneal thickness with micrometre-level precision. The device is due to begin clinical testing and is anticipated to be approved for use in the EU by early 2022.

This is set to be followed in 2024 by a pre-diabetes screening device to allow for pharmacies and optical practices to test for signs of Type 2 diabetes.

In the longer-term, the company plans to introduce personal-use monitors for people with diabetes. Reflecting on the crowdfunder, Daly said: “We wanted to give our community of 8000 people with diabetes the opportunity to become full shareholders in our business and to join us on this journey to try to improve their lives.”

Commenting on the company’s technology, Daniele De Iuliis, design director at Occuity, said: “It’s important to all of us that the devices we’re developing will be kinder, more intuitive and more convenient than existing technologies, and will be accessible to all.”