Eindhoven-based AIKON Health, a personalised digital health solution for heart failure management, has secured €1.2M in seed funding led by TTT Medtech fund.
The round saw participation from the Brabant Development Agency (BOM), Brabant Startup Fonds (BSF), Rabo Innovation Loan (RIL), and TNO Ventures.
Harm de Vries, Director of TTT Medtech, says, “AIKON Health exemplifies how cutting-edge research at TNO can lead to impactful medtech solutions. Their wearable for heart failure monitoring is exactly the kind of clinically relevant innovation TTT Medtech is proud to support – turning science into better care at home.”
Albertien Greijdanus, Senior Investment Manager BOM, adds, “As BOM, we are excited to invest in AIKON Health, whose wearable technology directly addresses the critical need for continuous monitoring of heart failure patients as they transition from hospital to home. Their solution enables earlier intervention, reduces readmissions, and supports better, patient-centred care beyond the hospital setting.”
Shifting heart failure care from hospital to home
AIKON Health is developing a wearable device for remote monitoring of heart failure patients. Thiru Kanagasabapathi founded the digital health startup in 2023 as a spin-off from TNO. Its co-founders include Sofia Hidalgo and Siam Gnana.
Heart failure affects more than 15 million people across Europe, with inadequate monitoring often leading to repeated hospitalisations. In the Netherlands alone, there are 30,000 new hospital admissions for heart failure annually, contributing over €800M in avoidable healthcare costs.
AIKON’s technology enables continuous monitoring of key health indicators from patients’ homes, allowing clinicians to make informed decisions remotely without requiring frequent outpatient visits.
The company’s wearable technology leverages dry electrode and materials technology, providing patients with stretchable skin patches for long-term data measurement. These are built on medical-grade base structures that utilise TNO’s expertise in printed and flexible electronics, creating a differentiated solution in the remote patient monitoring market.
Capital utilisation
AIKON Health aims to achieve FDA approval within a few years of founding, which would position its technology to enter both European and American healthcare markets.
The investment will accelerate AIKON Health’s product development and early clinical validation towards FDA approval. The funding will be allocated primarily to advancing the company’s modular wearable solution that combines a chest sensor and an arm sensor for continuous heart failure monitoring.
Thiru Kanagasabapathi, founder and CEO of AIKON Health, says, “We’re grateful to have the backing of such a committed and focused group of investors. This underscores the potential of medical technology emerging from the Brainport region and the strength of our innovation ecosystem. Their support accelerates our path towards FDA approval, an ambitious milestone we’re pursuing just a few years after founding.”
AIKON Health targets reducing hospital readmissions for heart failure patients by at least 25 per cent, addressing a significant healthcare challenge.
TNO’s commitment to commercialising breakthrough technologies
AIKON Health represents part of TNO Ventures’ mission to accelerate the journey of breakthrough technologies from lab to market.
As one of the largest independent research organisations in the Netherlands and the EU, TNO established TNO Ventures specifically to support the scaling of high-potential startups into global players, strengthening the Dutch innovation ecosystem through the commercialisation of research advances.
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