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WCIA News Channel 3 Features PhotoniCare on The Morning Show

Posted April 10, 2018 by Steven Bardwell. Watch the full video on WCIA 3.

Ryan Shelton, co-founder & CEO of Photonicare, joins the Morning Show to discuss their new product and the funding behind it.

PhotoniCare, a medical device company headquartered in Champaign, Illinois, announced that it has secured Series Seed funding. The round was led by investments from Julz and Almond Tree Capital. Other investors in the round include VisionTech Partners, Innovation In Motion, and F&S Capital.

PhotoniCare is developing a handheld, low-cost imaging platform that uses light to see through human tissues. PhotoniCare’s lead product, the ClearViewTM otoscope, enables front-line clinicians to see through the eardrum for the first time.  Doctors can now visualize the contents of the middle ear. Once introduced, ClearView is intended to change the way physicians manage middle ear infections, one of the most common diseases in the world.

The investment will be used to pursue FDA clearance for PhotoniCare’s first product, grow capability in operations, expand clinical studies, and further develop PhotoniCare’s product portfolio.

Dr. Zishan Haroon from Julz and Dr. Christian Renaudin from Almond Tree Capital will join PhotoniCare’s Board of Directors.

Zishan Haroon, Chairman and General Partner of Julz Co. said:  We are impressed with PhotoniCare’s innovation in an area where there has been no significant improvement in quite some time.  The company has demonstrated its ability to sketch out a product that can bring the current otoscope to digital standards while adding a new layer of imaging abilities for rapid diagnosis in the ENT space.  We are delighted to invest in PhotoniCare’s future growth.

Christian Renaudin, Managing Director of Almond Tree Capital said: “We believe that PhotoniCare’s ClearView will become a new standard in primary care and ENT practices, opening a new field for ear infection work-up management, enhancing quality outcomes for patients while saving the overall healthcare system from wasteful and unnecessary treatments, and potentially eliminating the abuse of antibiotic prescriptions and accompanying risk of antibiotic resistance. PhotoniCare is poised for tremendous growth thanks to its passionate team focused on execution.”

Ryan Shelton, PhotoniCare CEO and co-founder said: “PhotoniCare is fortunate to bring in some excellent partners in this round, with significant expertise in the medical device space and a vision that aligns well with the long-term mission of the company. 2018 is going to be a very busy and exciting year for PhotoniCare.”