Chemical Engineering grad student awarded funding for biomedical start-up

Thursday, December 15, 2022
Rakshit Shetty, Kebert Joseph and James Lowman

Rakshit Shetty, Kebert Joseph and James Lowman of Cauchy Analytics

James Lowman and his start-up Cauchy Analytics are benefiting from the entrepreneurial ecosystem at the University of Waterloo. Lowman teamed up with Rakshit Shetty, a critical care physician, and mathematician Kebert Joseph to develop a hands-free device to continuously image the heart during emergency cardiac care situations.

Cauchy Analytics combines ultrasound, machine learning, and computational fluid dynamics to create a real-time, non-invasive cardiac hemodynamic monitoring device. 

Last spring the team won $5000 in the Concept 5K pitch competition which they used to develop both the software and the hardware to create a point-of-care ultrasound device.

On November 21st, Cauchy Analytics applied for funding for a new program offered by Velocity in collaboration with Watco. The team pitched their biomedical device and put their business plan to the test when they presented in front of a panel of professors and Watco and Velocity employees.

Their bid was successful, and they will receive $15,000 toward their entrepreneurial endeavour. Watco will assist with patent advice as well as with the cost of a full patent.

On January 2nd, 2023, the start-up will be inducted into the Velocity Incubator "Venture Ready" program. This will provide Lowman and his partners with free office space in Kitchener's Tannery. Additionally, business advisor, Moazam Khan, will guide Cauchy Analytics to becoming a venture capital-ready company.

Lowman, Shetty and Joseph are thrilled with the support their company is receiving and plan to purchase some needed hardware (robotics) for their prototype development.

The team continues to gather momentum by utilizing their interdisciplinary skills to develop their novel device.

"In my case, having experience in simulation, mass transport, and material science appears to have set me up to be the perfect entrepreneur in the medical device field!” said Lowman. “Additionally, the exacting and methodical nature that grad school in Chemical Engineering has instilled in me is really paying dividends with respect to regulatory matters and project planning for a business.” 

 Cauchy Analytics will be pitching again in front of venture capitalists in February with a working version of the heart monitoring device, hoping to obtain funding to push the device past the prototype and towards clinical trial and FDA approval.