In only its second year of existence, Halifax-based medtech company Sound Blade Medical has closed a US$16.5 million (C$23.8 million) Series A funding round, which will help fund development and clinical trials of its product.

Sound Blade is developing an “advanced handheld histotripsy technology”, which uses sonic energy to cut tissue. The hand-held device will use highly focused ultrasound beams to cut specific tissue with what is described as “world-leading precision”.

The round was led by New York-based Amzak Health and Toronto-based Lumira Ventures (which already has a portfolio company involved in histotripsy), while Invest Nova Scotia also came in as an investor. It was the largest venture capital round closed by a Nova Scotian company since CarbonCure Technologies announced its US$80 million round in July 2023.

"We're thrilled to have the support of such forward-thinking investors who share our vision for the future of Sound Blade and our technology," said Sound Blade Co-Founder and CEO Jeremy Brown in a statement Wednesday. "This funding enables us to rapidly advance our technology, expand our team and accelerate regulatory approvals to quickly bring our therapy to patients in need."

Brown was also a Co-Founder of Halifax-based Daxsonics, which also works with ultrasound technologies. (Check out the article on Daxsonics that we published on Jan. 29, 2015, exactly 10 years before Brown’s second company announced its landmark funding deal.)

Growing out of research at Dalhousie University, Daxsonics provides technical expertise and engineering support for emerging applications in advanced ultrasound technologies. Sound Blade combines Daxsonics’ imaging technology within a handheld device that uses a highly focused ultrasound beam to form “cavitation bubbles” in tissue. Eventually the bubbles collapse, and this liquefies the tissue.

Brown said at an event in Halifax early last year that fat tissue liquefies faster than muscle and other denser tissues and the goal has been to find a frequency of ultrasound radiation capable of dissolving fat while leaving muscle intact.

While more testing is needed, Brown said he hopes the tool will be used to remove fat from the tongues of sleep apnea sufferers and improve their breathing. This would be a safer alternative to surgery.

The company foresees a range of applications for the technology but last year was considering sleep apnea treatment as its beachhead market.

As well as being non-invasive, the Sound Blade procedure does not produce heat, and this non-thermal aspect may lead to better immune and healing responses, said the company.

"Sound Blade's handheld histotripsy has truly disruptive potential,” said Amzak Health Partner Tony Natale, MD. “We're combining a highly accomplished founding team with an investor syndicate that has built many successful medtech companies to unlock the full promise of this platform."