Nobi has closed a €35m ($37m) Series B financing round to develop its AI-powered lights that help prevent and monitor falls.
The round was co-led by Angelini Ventures and Nexus NeuroTech Ventures, with support from Japanese investor 15th Rock and existing investors.
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The Belgian startup has set its sights on the ageing population and the frequent falls that occur in this age group. Nobi has developed a lamp that combines optical technology and AI that can immediately alert carers via a dashboard when a fall occurs.
The company adds that the device, which inserts into the ceiling similar to a normal light, can prevent disorientation by automatic lighting. The lamp supports natural daily rhythm with circadian lighting.
Falls among the elderly are a common but overlooked cause of injury, according to England’s NHS. More than half of people older than 80 years will have at least one fall a year. Such injuries can easily lead to broken bones, which can often start a cascade of more serious health problems.
Nobi reports that its lamp can help caregivers respond 94% faster, meaning falls that would normally lead to casualties lying on the floor for long periods were limited. The company analysed the technology in five care homes across nearly 3,000 resident days. In terms of preventing falls, Nobi said its lamp reduces falls by 84%. One of the features involves an arbitrary layout of where a person has fallen over, meaning care homes and hospitals can analyse scenarios and implement measures to prevent further falls in the future.
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By GlobalDataThe NHS has seen the promise in the technology, deploying the lamps across care homes in Lancashire and South Cumbria. This followed a positive pilot study at Hartland House in Milnthorpe with eight lamps, which detected 100% of falls and helped to prevent four in five.
There are a multitude of wearable devices for elderly people that detect falls, though the main limitation of these approaches is compliance. Adding more technology to daily life can overwhelm some people, and elderly people with cognitive impairment often forget to wear portable alarms. One suggested approach is to combine a passive camera system and wearable technology to account for falls not in the frame or forgetting to wear a device at night.
Nexus NeuroTech Ventures chief medical officer William Marks said: “Nobi represents a great opportunity to have an immediate and direct positive impact on the lives of people with these conditions, and the ageing population in general–where falls and associated morbidity are common.”
Nexus NeuroTech has been busy in funding rounds recently, participating in a $50m round for hand tremor therapy at Cala Health last month, along with co-leading an $80m round for autism care provider Cortica.
In a separate development, Angelini Ventures was involved in a €20m Series A financing round earlier this month with RNA-therapy specialist Neumirna Therapeutics.
