The Memo: Avertto Medical’s Vision for Continuous Stroke Monitoring

Under the direction of Founder and CEO Dr. Hilla Ben-Pazi, Avertto Medical is developing what it describes as the world’s first continuous stroke monitoring and alert system. Inspired by Ben-Pazi’s experience addressing stroke patients as a neurologist, the company is working to identify cerebrovascular changes before irreversible neurological damage occurs. By continuously monitoring carotid artery pulse waveforms and applying algorithm-driven analysis, Avertto aims to give clinicians an earlier opportunity to recognize and respond to evolving stroke events, potentially transforming how one of medicine’s most time-sensitive conditions is managed.

Origin Story

For Ben-Pazi, Avertto’s origins began at the bedside.

“The inspiration came directly from my work as a neurologist seeing individuals with irreversible disabilities,” Ben-Pazi explained. “It was frustrating to see the devastating consequences of delayed stroke recognition.”

While stroke treatments have improved dramatically, she became increasingly focused on a persistent challenge: 85% of patients are untreated because the stroke is detected too late, beyond the 6-hour window of opportunity.

That realization led to a simple but powerful question.

“What if we could detect the hemodynamic changes automatically before neurological damage occurs?”

The search for an answer led her team to the carotid artery, one of the brain’s primary blood supply pathways.

“That question led us to study the carotid artery, the main vessel supplying blood to the brain,” she said. “We discovered that subtle changes in carotid pulse waveforms may provide an early warning signal before irreversible injury develops.”

That discovery became the basis for the company’s efforts to develop continuous stroke monitoring technology capable of identifying cerebrovascular changes before clinical deterioration becomes apparent.

Founded in Israel, Avertto has since established a Delaware C-Corporation in the U.S. while maintaining strong R&D and clinical collaborations across Israel and Europe. The company is pursuing the U.S. market first, citing the significant clinical need, large stroke burden, favorable economics, and opportunities to integrate the technology into high-acuity settings such as ICUs, stroke units, and cardiovascular departments.

The Current Landscape

Stroke remains one of the most urgent challenges in healthcare. More than 15 million people experience a stroke each year worldwide, and outcomes remain highly dependent on how quickly treatment can begin. During an ischemic stroke, millions of neurons can be lost every minute.

Yet despite advances in treatment, stroke detection still largely relies on methods that occur after symptoms emerge.

Today’s standard of care typically includes:

• Recognition of neurological symptoms
• Intermittent neurological examinations
• CT and MRI imaging after symptoms appear
• Spot assessments of cerebral blood flow

There is currently no widely adopted automated continuous monitoring solution capable of alerting clinicians to evolving stroke risk in real time.

Ben-Pazi believes the next major advance in stroke care may not come from a new therapy, but from identifying patients sooner.

“Our mission is to detect clinically significant cerebrovascular changes before irreversible neurological damage occurs, enabling earlier intervention and improving patient outcomes,” she said. “We envision a future in which stroke is monitored similarly to how cardiac arrhythmias are monitored today: continuously, automatically, and in real time.”

The company describes this vision as a new category of care: continuous stroke surveillance.

Inside the Innovation

Avertto’s platform centers on continuous monitoring of carotid artery dynamics.

The system uses highly sensitive, non-invasive sensors positioned over the carotid artery to continuously capture pulse waveform data. Proprietary signal-processing techniques and AI algorithms then analyze subtle changes in waveform characteristics and asymmetry between the right and left carotid arteries.

When clinically significant changes are detected, the system can alert healthcare providers in real time, creating an opportunity for earlier evaluation and intervention.

According to the company, several factors differentiate the platform:

• Proprietary carotid monitoring technology inspired by biological sensing mechanisms
• A unique dataset of carotid pulse waveforms collected through years of development
• Sophisticated algorithms designed specifically to identify cerebrovascular changes
• Continuous monitoring rather than intermittent assessment
• Multiple patents protecting the platform, sensors, and algorithms
• Early clinical validation demonstrating promising sensitivity and specificity

Most importantly, the company is focused on identifying stroke-related physiological changes before neurological injury becomes irreversible.

Progress and Milestones

Avertto has advanced beyond the prototype stage and is now conducting clinical validation in real-world clinical environments. The company reports that the technology has reached approximately Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6 and is currently being evaluated through ongoing multicenter clinical collaborations.

Key milestones achieved to date include:

• Securing $2 million in grants and awards; $1 million in investments
• Establishing a Delaware C-Corporation
• Obtaining ISO 13485 certification
• Achieving Class I FDA registration
• Publications in high-impact peer-reviewed medical journals
• Completing blinded clinical studies
• Initiating multicenter usability studies
• Filing multiple international patent applications

The next phase of development includes expanding multicenter clinical studies, launching pilot hospital deployments, generating additional clinical evidence, and advancing toward Class II FDA and CE Mark pathways.

Longer term, Avertto plans to extend continuous cerebrovascular monitoring beyond the hospital through home monitoring and insertable versions of the technology.

To support these efforts, the company is currently raising approximately $3 million for clinical validation, regulatory activities, hospital pilot expansion, commercial readiness, and market entry.

Looking ahead, the company sees growing momentum for continuous monitoring as a tool to improve outcomes in acute neurological conditions.

“We are excited by the growing recognition that continuous monitoring can fundamentally change how acute neurological conditions are managed,” Ben-Pazi said. “The idea that stroke may become detectable before significant neurological injury occurs represents a paradigm shift in medicine.”

As Avertto advances its clinical validation and regulatory efforts, the company is working toward a future in which stroke detection becomes continuous rather than episodic, potentially giving clinicians valuable time to intervene before irreversible neurological damage occurs.

Join Us at LSI Europe ‘26

Ben-Pazi has been selected to present at LSI Europe '26, September 28th–October 1st, in front of hundreds of global medical technology companies. Join us in welcoming her to the event in Barcelona, where she will share the latest updates on Avertto’s technology and development.