14 August 2007 - Article by Nottingham Evening Post

Nottingham scientists have won investment worth £1m to begin making a device which will help save the lives of unborn babies. The device, developed by scientists from the University of Nottingham, measures the heartbeat of a foetus and picks up when it is in distress. Patches applied to the mother's abdomen have wires leading to a device the size of an MP3 player. It sends information by Bluetooth to a computer monitor which alerts medical staff to any problems. Doctors currently rely on Ultrasound but the new device developed by Nottingham-based Monica Healthcare will give mothers independence. The heartbeat can be monitored away from the hospital in places such as the home or office. The product will sell for under £5,000 in a market thought to be worth up to £50m a year in the EU and USA. Sales of the new breed of revolutionary monitoring equipment are expected to reach £7m by the third year. Monica, a spin-out company from the
University of Nottingham in May, 2005, is led by managing director Dr Carl Barrett. In 2005, venture capitalists Catapult invested £250,000 to fund the development and testing programme and also introduced Paul Harper as non-executive chairman. The financial backers in this round of funding are Catapult Venture Managers who are injecting £450,000 in to the project. In addition, a private investor is injecting £500,000 and the Lachesis Fund £50,000. This brings the total investment in Monica by Catapult funds to £700k and that of the Lachesis Fund to £250,000. Jonathan Earl, investment manager with Catapult, said: "This really is an exciting company with a 'top-notch' management team who have delivered the development phase to time and budget. "They have the skills to bring the fully developed product to market and we are delighted to invest further.