Egg Medical Lands $14.3M Raise
An interventional cardiologist for more than 35 years, Dr. Robert Wilson has ordered countless X-ray-guided procedures over the years.
These generally routine procedures are carried out to place stents in blood vessels or check for blockages, among other things. But he’s also well aware that they carry risks for medical staff carrying them out.
“What most people don’t know is that less than 1% of the X-ray beam actually makes it to the detector to make the picture,” Wilson says. “The other 99% is either absorbed by the patient or reflected back into the room.”
Regular exposure to X-rays can pose significant health risks, including cancer. Lead aprons have long been used as protection, but they’re heavy, not foolproof, and carry occupational risks of their own.
Wilson believe he’s found a better way through a product he’s called the EggNest, a carbon-fiber protective shield that surrounds a patient during an X-ray-guided procedure. His studies show that it reduces “scatter” X-ray exposure by upwards of 90%.
As Wilson sees it, there’s a big “unrecognized market” for Egg Medical’s products. “I don’t think people grasp the size of the market,” he says. “Nothing’s happened in X-ray shielding in 15 years.”
Investors have taken notice: In 2022, Wilson landed a $13 million raise, and this March the company closed on another $14.3 million, both led by German med-tech investor TVM Capital Life Science.
Wilson started selling EggNest to health care providers in 2019 and has sold over 200 to date. Sales are increasing about 100% per year.
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Wilson is no stranger to building medical devices. His first ventures, ACIST Medical Systems and HLT Medical, were acquired by Italy’s Bracco Group. Wilson says his entrepreneurial impulse originates from the pain points he sees on the front lines as a physician.
As he puts it: It’s a matter of building “things that I’ve wanted that nobody made.”
Headquarters: Arden Hills
Founded: 2014
Founders: Dr. Robert Wilson, John Gainor, Dr. Uma Valeti
