Partnership for Economic Innovation (PEI), a passionate collective of business and community leaders dedicated to accelerating Arizona’s economic opportunities, grants $250,000 in funding to Hemasense through the WearTech Applied Research Center.
The funding supports the development of a wearable monitoring patch that detects post-surgical bleeding complications at femoral catheter access sites, which are common, less-invasive, surgical entry points in the upper thigh, following procedures such as heart valve replacements.
The grant will fund key development activities, including early human trials and data automation through a partnership with Arizona State University. Hemasense recently closed an oversubscribed pre-seed round of $570,000, with significant support from Arizona investors contributing $370,000 prior to the WearTech funding.
“This funding from PEI’s WearTech Applied Research Center, combined with our successful animal studies and working prototype, positions us to tackle the critical challenge of post-surgical bleeding complications,” said Nathan Friedman, CEO and Co-founder of Hemasense. “These milestones propel us toward human trials and final commercial development, bringing us closer to our goal of accelerating patient recovery through early detection and treatment.”
With approximately one in ten large diameter femoral access procedures resulting in bleeding complications, this technology addresses a significant clinical need in the 2.3 million large-diameter percutaneous endovascular interventional procedures performed worldwide annually. Hemasense’s innovative technology uses electrical signals to detect blood accumulation before it becomes visible at the skin level. In recent animal studies, the device successfully detected subcutaneous bleeding in all six test cases before any visible signs appeared.
“Our wearable technology addresses a significant unmet need in healthcare by providing continuous monitoring for bleeding complications after percutaneous procedures,” said Anita Asgar, MD, Chief Medical Officer and Co-founder of Hemasense. “Early detection means faster intervention, which can dramatically improve outcomes for patients and reduce the burden on healthcare systems.”
The company’s wearable monitoring patch seamlessly integrates with existing patient recovery workflow, enabling early, less costly interventions when small amounts of blood begin to accumulate outside the femoral vessel. The flexible, low profile wearable sensor array wirelessly transmits data to a nearby tablet to provide real-time data insights and alerts during patient recovery.
“Hemasense exemplifies the innovation happening in Arizona’s healthtech ecosystem,” said Kathleen Lee, Managing Director of PEI’s WearTech Applied Research Center. “Their technology represents exactly the kind of breakthrough solution our WearTech Center aims to support—addressing real healthcare challenges through wearable technology while creating economic opportunity in our state.”
The applied research model accelerates product development and commercialization of new technologies by combining private and public sector support. PEI’s WearTech Applied Research Center bridges the “valley of death” that typically prevents promising technologies from reaching commercialization by connecting entrepreneurs and industry to world-class research teams and resources. The center guides projects from idea generation to commercialization, effectively developing innovative tools that improve quality of life.
The company plans to initiate final commercial development with the goal of FDA submission by Q4 2026, focusing on recruiting sites for early clinical trials in the next 3-6 months.