Irish health-tech start-up xWave Technologies has raised €1.3m in its oversubscribed seed funding round led by several private investors, including a €250,000 investment from Enterprise Ireland.

The firm, which is headquartered at NovaUCD, uses technology and data analytics to allow patients to receive the correct medical tests and scans in hospital.

The Dublin-based start-up said in a statement that it's aim is "to save lives by ensuring that patients get the best test first".

Last year, the start-up launched xRefer, its smart radiology referral platform. The company stated that the platform supports "clinicians in ordering the most appropriate radiology scan for their patient". 

XWave said that its cloud-based platform allows clinicians to quickly create and send evidence-based digital radiology referrals from anywhere, to any hospital or imaging centre.

Reducing referral time

The Irish firm said this technology had enabled it to reduce the average time taken to create, send and have a referral reviewed by a radiologist by 99.6% when used in Irish hospitals.

Mitchell O’Gorman, chief executive of xWave Technologies said: “The data that we have already seen from the use of xRefer in the Irish healthcare system indicates we can potentially eliminate radiology waiting lists in Ireland and abroad by removing unnecessary tests and ensuring that patients get the best test first.” 

The company hopes the new funding will enable it to expand further in the Irish, UK and Northern European markets. The firm currently has partnerships with the European Society of Radiology and the Royal College of Radiologists in the UK.

Working in collaboration with University College Dublin (UCD), xWave recently submitted an international patent application, using AI and machine learning in diagnostic referral tools.

Founded in 2020 by a group of radiologists, xWave is an Enterprise Ireland high-potential start-up and receives support from the HSE digital transformation team.

Reporting: The Irish Examiner