11 April 2014
Monica Healthcare secures N'Tech grant
A University of Nottingham spin-out has been awarded a grant of more than £250,000 to support a further £1m investment into the business.
Monica Healthcare, based at BioCity, is led by Dr Carl Barratt. The company has developed a foetal and maternal monitor, which is made in Nottingham and is the culmination of 15 years of research.
The grant from the Nottingham Technology Grant Fund (N'Tech) will support final clinical trials and test protocols for the new monitor.
Monica AN24 is a wireless monitor and tracks maternal and foetal heart rates, foetal positions, uterine activity and foetal movement data in real time.
Monica Healthcare has a well-established market across Brazil, Russia, India, Europe, the Gulf and Australia. Since receiving its second approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2011, it has exported hundreds of devices to the US.
Chief executive Barratt completed his undergraduate and postgraduate education at Nottingham Trent University and the University of Nottingham and has more than 15 years' experience developing high-tech products.
"The N'Tech grant is a crucial factor in financing development of our next generation products to improve foetal-maternal care through wireless health," he said.
Established in 2005 by Barratt, Dr Terence Martin, Dr Jean-Francois Pieri and professor Barrie Hayes-Gill, Monica currently employs nine staff at BioCity and the University of Nottingham, and will create an additional nine jobs over the next year.
N'Tech grants, which are administered by Nottingham City Council, are geared towards the growing life science, digital content and clean technology sectors.