The Weekly Recap 8/14/26: LSI Alumni Achievements Driving Medtech and Healthtech Forward

In a successful week for the medical technology companies in the LSI Alumni community, we saw LSI Alumni achieve regulatory approvals, receive new funding, appoint new executives, and much more on the road to LSI Europe ‘26 in Barcelona (September 28 - October 1).

Aposture Surgical

Appointed Tan (Dan) Chen, MD, FRCSC, FACS, FAAOS, as Medical Advisor to the company and raised a friends-and-family funding round. The funding will enable the company to begin the regulatory approval process for its innovative ApostureFlex fixation system for lumbar spinal fusion.

AQUAPASS

Completed the enrollment in its FDA pivotal REFORM-HF trial, a key milestone on the path toward marketing clearance for its ECCON System. The company is developing a noninvasive, kidney-independent therapy for fluid overload management in patients experiencing heart failure and chronic or end-stage kidney disease

Azalea Vision

Appointed Andrés Vasquez Quintero as CEO. As the inventor of the company’s proprietary adaptive-optics platform, Vasquez Quintero has led its technology and clinical strategy since founding the company, keeping technical and corporate direction closely aligned.

Calla Lily Clinical Care

Joined Wellcome Leap’s Focused Antibiotics program, a new $50M-funded program to transform how antibiotics are delivered and address the growing global threat of antimicrobial resistance. Founded by Wellcome Trust in 2020, Wellcome Leap is a U.S. non-profit that builds and executes bold, unconventional research programs designed to increase the number and speed of breakthroughs in human health.

Charco

Published its pilot RCT, with data showing that its CUE1+ is safe and well tolerated, with encouraging signals of motor symptom relief in people with Parkinson's Disease. The study is a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 50 people with Parkinson's, published in Parkinson's Disease, part of the Nature Portfolio, and is the first randomized sham-controlled trial of the sternum-worn therapeutic device

Contraline

Received an investment from RA Capital Management. The company is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on innovation in male reproductive health, aiming to advance both hormonal and non-hormonal approaches to expand contraceptive options for men and couples globally.

Distalmotion

Received FDA 510(k) clearance for ventral hernia repair with its DEXTER Robotic Surgery System. The clearance was supported by data from the Robotic minimAlly invasive Ventral hErNia repair (RAVEN) Study. 

Implant Preservation Devices

Granted FDA Breakthrough Device Designation. The company has developed a device that applies heat to implants using induction, effectively targeting and eliminating bacteria that cause these infections. 

Jupiter Endovascular

Welcomed Catalin Toma, MD, as its Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Toma is a globally renowned physician, researcher, and leader in interventional cardiovascular medicine, bringing extensive clinical experience to the company.

Life Seal Vascular

Awarded a $1.25M Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation. This critical non-dilutive funding enables the company to advance its R&D and engineering pipeline while minimizing equity dilution for existing shareholders ahead of commercialization milestones. 

LightHearted AI

Received investment from the Henry Ford + MSU Innovation Fund to support clinical validation as the company seeks regulatory approval. The company is developing LightScope, a non-invasive tool that uses visible light to capture heart sound data and detect heart valve disease in under 10 seconds.

Magnendo

Selected for an award of up to $32M from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health under its Autonomous Interventions and Robotics program. The AIR program aims to catalyze the development of autonomous robotic systems capable of performing endovascular stroke interventions with progressively less direct human input.

Mayo Clinic

Named LSI Alumni Matthew P. Abdel, M.D., as its first enterprise chair of surgical practice. Dr. Abdel will work alongside Caroline Sarratt Russell and Marisa Liepman to propel the company’s Category-of-One surgical practice through innovation, operational excellence, and enterprise-wide collaboration.

MDD Federal

Appointed LSI Alumni George Davis as its CEO. The company aims to bridge the gap between emerging and established medtech manufacturers and the federal marketplace.

Navier Medical

Awarded $2.1M in funding through CUREator+, delivered by ANDHealth and Brandon Capital, and supported by the Australian Government’s Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF). The highly competitive CUREator+ program supports Australia’s most promising health technologies to accelerate toward clinical and commercial impact.

Noah Medical

Commercially launched the Galaxy II software, the next evolution of the company’s robotic-assisted bronchoscopy platform. The Galaxy II software gives physicians imaging flexibility and procedural control to take on their most complex cases with confidence, advancing what bronchoscopy can deliver across every dimension of the procedure.

Panda Surgical

Appointed Craig Marshall as Chairman of its Board of Directors. Marshall joined the Board as an independent non-executive director in October of 2025 and now steps up to lead it as the company advances toward first-in-human clinical evaluation and commercialization.

Reach Neuro

Welcomed Jordi Parramon as Chairman of the Board. Parramon is an executive leader, entrepreneur, and investor with more than 27 years across medical devices, bioelectronics, neuromodulation, and digital health.

Shoulder Innovations

Appointed Jon Osborne as Chief Commercial Officer. Osborne, who most recently served as Vice President of Commercial Development, will now have responsibility for all elements of the company’s commercial organization and will work closely with its Customer Experience and Medical Education teams to execute the company’s commercial strategy.

Zepto Life Technology

Awarded a contract valued at up to $8.9M from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to advance its plasma cell-free DNA liquid biopsy platform for invasive fungal infections. The award builds on major regulatory and commercial milestones already achieved by the company, including FDA BDD. 

Stay tuned for more updates, insights, and achievements of our LSI Alumni in The Weekly Recap, and follow our blog for the latest medical device news and advancements.