Dopl Technologies raises $1.5M to fuel mission of delivering telerobotic care to underserved areas

Dopl Technologies, a Seattle startup working to bring diagnostic exams and interventional procedures to underserved communities via telerobotics, raised $1.5 million in a recent pre-seed funding round.

Co-founder and CEO Ryan James said in a post on LinkedIn that the round was led by TVF with participation from Precursor Ventures, Seattle Angel Conference, Flywheel (NCW Tech Alliance), The Pitch Fund, Measured Capital, Dreamward Event Fund (Washington State Black Angel Network), the University of Washington, Dream Variation Ventures and several angel investors.

“The capital is accelerating our ability to distribute life-saving ultrasound exams to underserved patients, enabling earlier diagnoses of critical diseases in our $20B beachhead market,” James wrote.

James and co-founders Steve Seslar, Dopl’s COO, and Wayne Monsky, the startup’s chief medical officer, first started researching novel methods to deliver care at the UW in 2017. 

The company’s mission is to eliminate the long distances that some rural patients must travel in order to be diagnosed and treated by specialists concentrated in urban areas. The robotic arm of a Dopl ultrasound system, located in a rural hospital, for instance, can be controlled via the hand movements of a remote sonographer in a different location.

James said Dopl uses advanced haptics and visual tools to give the sonographer the sense of touch, and it is collecting data to provide the sonographer with AI assistance that optimizes workflows.

“Our goal is not to merely provide an equivalent experience for sonographers to perform these exams remotely, but rather to provide an enhanced experience,” James said via email. “Imagine a world in which sonographers are able to work from the comfort of their own home, thousands of miles away, but with improved ergonomics/reduced strain, while treating patients that can finally receive the timely care they deserve.”

James said the startup has had multiple conversations with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and is confident about its path to clearance and launching early next year.

Dopl Technologies currently employs six people.