CalmWave Raises $5.2M to Silence Excessive Patient Alarms in ICUs

CalmWave, a startup focused on reducing excessive patient alarms in ICUs, has raised $5.2 million in funding. The company aims to address alarm fatigue in hospitals, improving patient care and hospital efficiency. With this investment, CalmWave plans to develop and implement technology that reduces unnecessary alarms, creating a quieter, more manageable environment for both healthcare professionals and patients.

CalmWave, a Seattle-based health-tech startup specializing in reducing alarm fatigue in hospital ICUs, has secured $5.25 million in new funding, the company announced on Wednesday.

The investment round was led by Third Prime, with contributions from Catalyst by Wellstar, Silver Circle, Rebellion, Impulsum, and existing backers Bonfire Ventures, Tau Ventures, and Hike Ventures. The funds will help accelerate the company’s growth and expand partnerships, including with Premier, Inc. and Partners Co-op.

Founded in 2022 as part of the AI2 Incubator, CalmWave developed “Quiet ICU,” a software solution designed to address the alarm fatigue affecting both healthcare workers and patients. The system specifically targets non-actionable alerts from monitoring devices that do not require immediate clinical response. These alarms, which account for 80-99% of ICU alarms, contribute to staff strain and impact patient care.

CalmWave’s system collects data from connected devices and offers various ways to visualize it. Users can view individual patient data, ward summaries, alarm incidents, and more. It also customizes alarm thresholds based on individual patient physiology. For example, for a smoker with low baseline oxygen levels, the system might recommend setting a lower threshold for oxygen saturation alarms.

The system uses AI to analyze patient data, learn about their physiological status, and provide recommendations for setting alarm thresholds accordingly. CalmWave was founded by Ophir Ronen, a serial entrepreneur who previously founded Event Enrichment HQ, a startup acquired by PagerDuty in 2015.

“We’ve shown a 58% reduction in non-actionable alarms and improved safety in a retrospective study at a Cardiac Care unit,” Ronen said in a statement. “With this investment, we are poised to rapidly scale and respond to the growing interest from hospital systems.”CalmWave received recognition, winning UX Design of the Year at the 2023 GeekWire Awards and Health Innovation of the Year in 2024.

The company has seen a 28.5% increase in its workforce year-over-year but chose not to disclose specific revenue or employee figures.

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Source: geekwire‍