Caristo Diagnostics

Caristo Diagnostics, established in 2018 as a spin-out from the University of Oxford, is a medical technology firm focused on transforming cardiovascular disease diagnostics. The company was founded by a team of cardiologists from the university, including Professor Charalambos Antoniades, Professor Keith Channon, Dr. Cheerag Shirodaria, and Professor Stefan Neubauer, following a decade of intensive research. The founders' journey originated from their deep expertise in cardiovascular medicine and the need for better predictive tools. Professor Antoniades, the Chief Scientific Officer, is a world expert on the link between inflammation and cardiovascular disease, and his research was a primary catalyst for the company's formation.

The company's core offering is the CaRi-Heart® technology, an AI-powered Software as a Service (SaaS) platform that analyzes routine Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography (CCTA) scans to predict cardiovascular risk. This technology identifies and quantifies coronary inflammation, a previously undetectable root cause of heart attacks, by analyzing changes in fat tissue around the coronary arteries. The platform is agnostic to the scanner hardware and can analyze new or archived images securely via the cloud. Its key features include the FAI-Score™, a proprietary biomarker for coronary inflammation; CaRi-Plaque™, which characterizes and quantifies plaque; and the CaRi-Heart Risk Score, which provides an individualized risk of a fatal cardiac event up to 10 years in advance.

Caristo operates on a B2B model, serving clients such as hospitals, clinics, and pharmaceutical companies. Revenue is generated through the analysis services provided to these healthcare institutions. The technology is commercially available in the UK, Europe, and Australia, with regulatory clearance including a CE mark. The company is also actively pursuing FDA clearance to enter the U.S. market. Caristo has established significant partnerships, including a pilot program with several NHS hospitals in the UK to integrate the CaRi-Heart technology into the standard care pathway for patients with suspected coronary artery disease. To date, the company has raised over £23 million in venture capital from investors including Oxford Science Enterprises, BGF, and Longwall Venture Partners.

Keywords: cardiovascular diagnostics, coronary inflammation, CCTA analysis, heart attack prediction, AI medical imaging, Fat Attenuation Index (FAI), plaque quantification, preventative cardiology, risk stratification, Saas medical device, Oxford University spin-out, cardiac CT, cardiovascular risk score, digital health, HealthTech, medical technology, coronary artery disease, predictive analytics, diagnostic software, personalized medicine