This year, it could all come together for Annamarie and Paul Saarinen, the wife-and-husband team behind Minneapolis-based medtech startup Bloom Standard.
Officially launched in 2020 by Annamarie, who’s CEO of the company, Bloom Standard is developing a portable ultrasound device for scanning newborns’ hearts and lungs for potentially fatal conditions. If successfully brought to market, the company estimates its device could save an estimated 1.3 million young lives annually worldwide.
As of early March, Bloom Standard has raised $2.1 million in funding. Approximately 50% of that is from investors (two-thirds from Minnesota), and the remainder from R&D grants and non-dilutive funding. The company also completed a second pre-seed venture round in early December, which capped a very busy year. That same month, Bloom Standard announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted a “Breakthrough Device Designation” for its flagship product, the EVA RAPIDscan ultrasound system.
Before that, in October, the startup received a utility patent for its device, with more patents expected to follow. The company is moving through the FDA approvals process and intends to begin commercial manufacturing early next year.