Phantom GI, a Tel Aviv medical device startup, raised $5 million in a first seed round led by Pitango HealthTech, with participation from RAD Biomed and RUNI Ventures. The company is developing PercStoma, a device meant to replace one of the most invasive digestive system surgeries with a much shorter procedure.
The problem
An ostomy is an opening created in the abdominal wall to drain the bowel when the system cannot work normally. Today it requires surgery under general anesthesia, and some patients, such as elderly patients or seriously ill cancer patients, are too sick to undergo it. According to the company, in the US alone there are up to 55,000 such patients a year.
The solution: one puncture
PercStoma is meant to create the ostomy through a single needle puncture, under local anesthesia and X-ray guidance. According to the company, the whole procedure will take about 20 minutes. The money will fund the first phase of US clinical studies, and the technology is still in development and not yet approved for use.
Why it is interesting
Medical devices are one of Israeli tech's strongest fields, but they get less attention than AI and cybersecurity. Phantom GI is an example of a company trying to solve a very focused problem, with a direct impact on the lives of patients who today have almost no treatment option.
