A New Investment to Accelerate Clinical Validation of Wearable Cardiac Ultrasound Technology

Providence Health Care Ventures (PHCV), a strategic catalyst for health care innovation, announced a strategic investment in Sonus Microsystems, a leader in innovative ultrasound technology, alongside angel investors including physicians in the cardiac care field. PHC Ventures tenth investment marks a significant milestone in the partnership, accelerating Sonus’ advancement of its wearable ultrasound patch technology into clinical validation studies. 

"Our continued partnership with Sonus reflects our commitment to advancing technologies that address critical gaps in patient care," said Brian Simmers, President of PHCV. "By investing in this next phase, we're enabling clinical validation that will be essential to understanding how wearable ultrasound can impact heart failure management. The opportunity to integrate our clinical data resources to support AI development further strengthens the potential of this technology." 

The investment will directly support the launch of patient studies within Providence's clinical ecosystem, allowing Sonus to validate its proprietary wearable ultrasound technology in real-world health care settings. The funding also enables an expanded collaboration between the organizations, including the development of AI models for echocardiography data analysis—a critical component of the technology's ability to deliver real-time, actionable insights to health care providers. 

"Sonus’s autonomous ultrasound monitoring delivers crucial, real-time information to physicians and healthcare providers; continuous, high-resolution imaging, that has the potential to transform patient monitoring and care, even outside of the clinical setting. Providence’s investment will move Sonus toward a pivotal phase in development,” said Hani Eskandari, CEO of Sonus Microsystems.   

"As a physician working daily with patients with heart failure, I've seen firsthand how critical early detection is to preventing hospitalizations. Moving this technology into clinical studies represents an important step forward. The ability to continuously monitor cardiac function remotely could change how we detect early signs of decompensation in heart failure patients, potentially preventing hospitalizations and improving quality of life,” says Dr. Nathaniel Hawkins, Associate Professor at UBC and Physician Lead for the Regional Heart Failure Program and St Paul’s Hospital Heart Function Clinic. 

Addressing the Heart Failure Crisis Through Innovation 

Heart failure remains one of health care's most pressing challenges, affecting an estimated 750,000 Canadians and accounting for the highest rate of hospital readmissions compared to any other disease. Sonus' wearable ultrasound patch leverages the company's proprietary Sonus Array Technology™ to enable high-resolution cardiac imaging outside traditional clinical settings, potentially enabling earlier detection of deteriorating heart function and more timely interventions. 

Moving this technology into clinical studies represents an important step forward. The ability to continuously monitor cardiac function remotely could fundamentally change how we detect early signs of decompensation in heart failure patients, potentially preventing hospitalizations and improving quality of life." 

Strategic Investment to Accelerate Commercialization 

The investment positions Sonus to execute clinical studies while continuing broader fundraising efforts to support commercial-scale development. The participation of physicians as angel investors alongside Providence Health Care Ventures underscores the clinical community's confidence in the technology's potential to address unmet needs in cardiac care. 

“Our investment in Sonus Microsystems marks the tenth Canadian health innovation company backed by PHC Ventures. Sonus’ real-time autonomous ultrasound monitoring has the potential to transform cardiac care by enabling earlier detection of complications such as respiratory distress, fluid overload in heart failure, and abnormal heart sounds that signal decompensation,” explains Simmers. “By moving clinicians from reactive to proactive intervention, Sonus is redefining how we safeguard patients and deliver care. It is exactly the type of breakthrough innovation that strengthens Canada’s position as a global leader in health technology."