Downing LLP supports surgical augmented intelligence company Cydar Medical with a £1.3 million investment through the healthcare ventures team.

The company, based in Barrington, Cambridgeshire, uses leading-edge computer vision and machine learning software to revolutionise every stage of image-guided minimally invasive surgery (MIS).

Cydar was founded by vascular surgeon Tom Carrell and imaging scientist Graeme Penney to improve endovascular MIS. The company’s first product, Cydar EV Maps, a cloud-based software solution, is already being used in over 30 leading hospitals in the UK, US and Europe, with 100% retention of the SaaS subscription year on year. The product creates a patient-specific 3D Map of soft tissue, integrating the process of procedure planning, intra-operative navigation and post-procedure review. This results in easier and quicker procedures, reducing the radiation exposure for the patient and clinical team and improved clinical outcomes, benefiting patients, clinicians and hospitals^[i]. Shorter operating times also mean more efficient hospital resource use.

The investment, through Downing Healthcare Ventures EIS fund into ordinary shares in the business, will support the growth of Cydar’s international customer base, as well as the ongoing development of Cydar EV Maps. A future release of the technology will provide predictive procedure planning, where the artificial intelligence capabilities of the product will allow a clinician to plan a new case informed by the outcomes from cases undertaken globally on patients with similar anatomy.

Downing chose to invest in Cydar because it operates in a growing market segment and is focused on a specific significant surgical need, where there is strong demand from surgeons for an improved approach. Cloud-based solutions like Cydar EV Maps bring a new level of healthcare capabilities to the operating room.

Image-guided surgery is now used in the majority of surgical operations and across a wide range of surgical procedures. Cydar’s integrated solution for endovascular surgeons has attracted commercial agreements with leading industry players including Medtronic, Philips and BrainLab positioning the company for growth.

Matt Pierce, Healthcare Principal, Downing Healthcare Ventures said: “Cydar Medical has a well-rounded management team which includes technical founders and a commercially focused CEO. The team takes a data-led approach aiming to make Cydar the standard of care for endovascular surgery.

“Its technology works with imaging hardware that surgeons currently use and can slot into the existing workflows without disruption whilst delivering improved visualisation and data insights. We look forward to working with the company and management team to achieve their goals.”

Paul Mussenden, Chief Executive Officer, Cydar Medical said: “We are very pleased to be partnering with Downing who supports our mission to ensure every image-guided endovascular procedure goes exactly as planned. At this exciting stage in our business, we are rapidly scaling up our activities and leveraging a range of strategic commercial partnerships to grow our installed product base. Downing’s extensive experience and expertise in the healthcare space will be invaluable as we continue to build and develop our strategies and capabilities in key markets.”

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