Halifax- and Toronto-based MIMOSA Diagnostics, which makes a medical device for non-invasively assessing tissue damage, has received Health Canada approval six months after it launched its technology in the Untied States.

The sign-off paves the way for the company to sell its MIMOSA Pro device north of the border, following comments last year by CEO Dr. Karen Cross that pursuing American approval first would ease the Canadian compliance process because the two systems have similar requirements.

Cross, a plastic surgeon, founded MIMOSA in 2016 with magnetic resonance researcher General Leung, an assistant professor at the University of Toronto. The duo have developed technology to diagnose conditions such as wounds and bedsores non-invasively via a process called tissue oximetry, which essentially uses light to measure tissue health.

“I am so incredibly proud that the MIMOSA Pro can now be used to help our own communities right here in Canada,” said Cross in a statement.

“Having been a Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon in the Canadian healthcare system, I cannot tell you how many times I wish technology like this was available to my team and my patients.”

The Health Canada approval comes six months after MIMOSA raised an undisclosed amount of funding via a convertible debenture — a hybrid debt and equity financing instrument that gives investors the right to purchase shares later at a predetermined price.

The round was led by Toronto-based Archerwill Investments, the provincial government-run Ontario Centre for Innovation, private equity shop XDL Group, and Halifax’s own Tidal Venture Partners.

Cross has said previously that she is particularly interested in reaching patients in rural markets like small-town Canada, where the available medical care tends to be limited.