FINANCING
Syntr Health Technologies Inc., an Irvine-based medical device company specializing in processing fat tissue for minimally invasive aesthetic procedures, announced Aug. 12 an oversubscribed $2.2 million seed investing round to accelerate sales of its patented, FDA-cleared SyntrFuge System.
The company said previous investors, angels and surgeons are participating in the round.
“We are appreciative and thank all of our investors who participated in this round,” Chief Executive Ahmed Zobi said in a statement.
The SyntrFuge System is a single-use, disposable medical device that harvests, concentrates and transfers a patient’s fat tissue in minutes, resulting in a quick and efficient procedure, the company said.
The device is in the process of being sold to multiple VA hospitals and plastic surgery practices around the U.S., the company said.
The company recently released and listed with the FDA its Class I SyntrFPU 360 device, a reusable lab centrifuge and accessory to the SyntrFuge System that expedites the process.
Syntr also announced that Dane Shackleford has joined its board of directors. Shackleford previously held positions with multiple medical device companies, including Spiracur, a negative wound pressure therapy company.
“The benefits offered by Syntr’s technology are substantial, including the ability for patients to use their own tissue versus the introduction of foreign materials, while also offering convenience, safety and cost savings,” Shackleford said.
APPS
Irvine-based Huckleberry Labs announced Aug. 13 its baby tracker app surpassed 1 million users from 213 different countries.
Huckleberry is a mobile app that uses expertise from both pediatric sleep experts and artificial intelligence to create customized sleep profiles, recommended sleep schedules and step-by-step guides.
The app also includes several free tools, including progress trackers and SweetSpot, which predicts the child’s next optimal naptime.
Huckleberry executives said 93% of its users reported getting better sleep.
“Parents say, ‘It must be black magic or voodoo,’” Jessica Toh, co-founder and CEO of Huckleberry, told the Business Journal. “But there’s so much engineering and data science on the back-end.”
Huckleberry’s interface will expand within the next month into new tracking categories, including the Solids Tracker, which will help parents transition their child to eating solid food.
The update is Huckleberry’s first foray beyond sleep, Toh told the Business Journal. Over the next five years, the app will expand to cover every parenthood and childhood challenge.
“We’re going to provide guidance to parents so they don’t have to figure it out alone,” Toh said. “Because when you bring a child into the world, you also bring a parent into the world.”
Toh and her husband, Seng Toh, founded Huckleberry in 2017 after experiencing many sleepless nights with their own newborn son.
