This article was originally published here. VitalFlo is a spinout of the ASSIST Center and was co-founded by ASSIST’s Dr. James Dieffenderfer, Assistant Research Professor
VitalFlo, a predictive medicine platform that emerged from patient care and research experiences of advisors Dr. Michelle Hernandez and Dr. David Peden of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and colleagues at North Carolina State University, has raised $2.14 million in seed funding in a round led by Geekdom Fund.
The company assists patients with home respiratory monitoring, and also operates allergy and asthma clinics, primary care clinics, and clinical research teams, according to a statement from the company.
“VitalFlo helps doctors keep their patients safe and healthy, with in-home tracking and forecasting of lung function, symptoms and environmental triggers,” said Luke Marshall, VitalFlo founder and CEO, in a statement.
The company grew patient load by 17 times during the last year, and also opened a second office in Portland, OR, in addition to growing its team in its Raleigh office. VitalFlow said it will use the funding to scale the company and to add to its team in both locations.
Other investors joining the round were Elevate Capital, Lontra Ventures, Front Porch Venture Partners, and Purpose Built Ventures. The company’s research has been supported by the National Science Foundation.
“We are thrilled our investors are eager to join us in our vision to improve patient care and health outcomes for those with chronic respiratory disease,” said Marshall.
The company raised $200,000 in 2019 from 10 investors. In the spring of 2018, the company won an NC IDEA SEED grant with an award amount of $50,000 and raised $75,000 from The Launch Place, after winning the organization’s Big Launch Challenge. VitalFlo also won a NASA future contest and the North Carolina State Lulu eGames.
It launched commercially in 2020. With the onset of the global coronavirus pandemic, increased focus on remote monitoring, Marshall said at a November 2020 event hosted by NC RIoT.
“Especially in the wake of COVID-19, it has never been more apparent that predictive medicine products like VitalFlo are needed to improve our ability to deliver care when and where it is needed most,” said Mike Troy, Managing Partner at Geekdom Fund, in a statement.