UV Angel has just closed on a angel round of seed capital worth at least $1 million to help further develop its infection-fighting technology.
The Livonia-based firm makes an innovative disinfection technology for hospitals and clinics. The idea is to prevent healthcare-associated infections, which can include nasty superbugs like H1N1 and MRSA. Such infections kill more than 75,000 people each year.
"We have had more healthcare-associated infection fatalities in the last year than there were deaths in Vietnam and the War on Terror combined," says Michael Armstrong, vice president of
UV Angel.
UV Angel's platform continuously monitors device interactions and employs an automated disinfection process to create a safe working environment in medical centers. Each interaction between a medical professional and a piece of equipment (think computer keyboard or mice) initiates or pauses a cleaning cycle.
"We go after the high-touch surfaces and kill whatever is there," Armstrong says.
"Everything we do we record," he adds. "Nobody else does that."
UV Angel currently has pilot studies of its technology underway, which have shown that they consistently eliminate superbugs. Today a team of about 10 people at UV Angel are working on the technology and commercializing it. The firm recently hired three sales reps.
Source: Michael Armstrong, vice president of UV Angel
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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