A Bristol healthtech firm that has developed novel eye imaging chip technology has secured £860,000 in its latest funding round. The fresh injection of capital will be used by Siloton to progress the commercial roll-out of its device which the firm says could help address the UK’s most common cause of sight loss.

Siloton is aiming to make the diagnosis and monitoring of a range of treatable retinal diseases more affordable by compressing heavy, expensive and fragile components onto a single chip smaller than a £1 coin. The firm claims its tech could save the NHS more than £1bn a year and allow patients to monitor their condition at home.

The latest fundraise included Evenlode Impact Investments, which committed further capital to the business, alongside members of South East Angels, the Francis Crick Institute and other investors. Along with an Innovate UK Biomedical Catalyst grant, the latest raise takes total funding in Siloton to £1.7m to date.

“We are on the cusp of a significant milestone with our technology and look forward to sharing this in the not-too-distant future,” said Dr Alasdair Price, chief executive of Siloton.

Siloton is hoping to bring its Akepa optical coherence tomography (OCT) chip technology to market in 2025. The business is also planning to capture the first chip-based OCT image of a living eye in a commercial setting, it said.

Dr Price added: “Siloton has brought together a uniquely qualified team that is able to drive forward technology development at an unprecedented pace. This new support will help us take the next step towards commercialisation by shifting gear from R&D to product development.

“The population of individuals with retinal disease is growing. New, more affordable and accessible OCT systems like our Akepa technology will be critical to serving patients with precision and efficiency. In turn, this could help reduce preventable blindness, save healthcare providers billions of pounds, and reduce pressure on already stretched eye clinics.”