Johns Hopkins startup making in-body ultrasound closes $500K seed round

A Johns Hopkins spinout created to develop an ultrasound that works from inside the body closed a $500,000 seed round.
Perceptive Navigation, which is based at Johns Hopkins’ FastForward East incubator, received investment from the state-backed Maryland Venture Fund and the Abell Foundation.

With the new investment, the company named Todd Chappell as CEO. He previously served as entrepreneur-in-residence at the health-focused commercialization incubator BioHealth Innovation.
Created by Johns Hopkins cardiologist Theodore Abraham, the company is developing Vu-Path. It’s an ultrasound probe designed to be injected “within the body” to provide medical imaging for surgical procedures.
The company sees the device working in place of tasks that are currently performed by X-rays, MRIs and CT scans. The product is still in development as the company works toward FDA approval and other clearances.
Prior to the new funding, the company received an investment from TEDCO and a $1.4 million Small Business Innovation and Research (SBIR) grant from the U.S. government.