NearWave

NearWave is a private, pre-revenue diagnostics company founded in 2018, commercializing a compact, handheld fdNIRS scanner for deep tissue metabolic imaging. Its core innovation is miniaturizing a complex optical technique into a portable, battery-powered device with a real-time iOS display, targeting both clinical research and future diagnostic applications. The company has secured investment from entities like Cancer Fund Impact Investments and is engaging with academic and hospital partners to validate its technology across potential use cases in sports medicine, cardiovascular health, and oncology.

Frequency-domain near-infrared spectroscopy (fdNIRS) miniaturized into a handheld, battery-powered scanner. It uses modulated near-infrared light (660-1000nm) to quantitatively measure tissue absorption and scattering, enabling calculation of absolute concentrations of oxyhemoglobin, deoxyhemoglobin, tissue oxygen saturation (StO2), and total hemoglobin in deep tissue (1-2.5 cm).

NearWave competes with bulky, cart-based continuous-wave NIRS systems (e.g., from ISS Inc., NIRx) that often provide only relative measurements, and with established pulse oximetry giants (e.g., Masimo) that measure arterial, not tissue, oxygenation. Its main differentiator is the combination of quantitative fdNIRS data in a handheld form factor, though it must compete for attention and validation against these entrenched technologies.