Belfast-based medtech firm B-Secur Ltd has secured increased investment of £1.45m from Kernel Capital for its wearable tech equipment.
The healthtech has developed a software technique that uses an individual’s unique heartbeat pattern, known as electrocardiogram (ECG) in everyday technologies to securely identify and provide health insights simultaneously.
Medical grade ECG recording traditionally happens in the hospital environment using expensive equipment, but B-Secur is embedding this into smartwatches, cars and even clothing.
In recent months B-Secur has signed significant contracts with international customers. This round of funding will be used to deliver on these contracts.
The company, which has offices within Belfast’s Catalyst Innovation Centre, currently employs over 35 scientists and engineers.
It said it will look to hire additional staff in Belfast and engineering staff in its customer regions including the US and China.
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Alan Foreman, CEO at B-Secur said that despite a difficult backdrop of Covid-19 and economic uncertainty, the firm’s “Heartkey software is enabling new features in technology and has generated further demand as a direct result.”
He continued: “Not only are people increasingly keen to understand their state of health and wellness including conditions such as stress and anxiety, an unfortunate effect of Covid appears to be an increased instance of heart related, and potentially life threatening, conditions such as Arrhythmia.
“Hospitals are already struggling to cope with demand, so it is our hope that we can enable personal ECG monitoring in everyday devices such as smartwatches.”
The Bank of Ireland Kernel Capital Growth Fund (NI) was designed to help SMEs in Northern Ireland to accelerate their growth. Invest Northern Ireland has committed £15m of funding to this fund which is part financed by the European Regional Development Fund under the EU Investment for Growth and Jobs Programme 2014-2020.
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