IW Capital leads a £7m investment round into Alesi Surgical to tackle hazardous surgical smoke in operating theatres
IW Capital has led a £7m investment round into Alesi Surgical, a Cardiff-based surgical technology company tackling one of healthcare’s most persistent yet underappreciated hazards – surgical smoke in operating theatres. The funding round, as seen in Sky News, has been led by IW Capital, with support from existing investors IP Group and Mercia Ventures.
The problem of surgical smoke
Surgical smoke is produced in around 90% of procedures, of which there are an estimated 266 million each year. The smoke impairs surgeons’ visibility and exposes healthcare staff and patients to harmful aerosols and particulates. Although 95% of surgical smoke is water, the remaining 5% can contain viable viruses, bacteria and chemicals This presents both a short-term infection risk and long-term toxicity hazard for operating theatre staff.
Historically, adoption of smoke management solutions has been limited by cumbersome extraction systems that interrupt surgical workflow. But growing regulatory momentum – led by the US where 20 states have now passed regulation – is driving a shift towards smoke-free operating theatres becoming the standard of care.
Alesi Surgical’s Ultravision technology
Alesi’s proprietary Ultravision platform technology provides an innovative alternative to existing products. It uses electrostatic precipitation to actively remove smoke as it is generated rather than relying on suction and mechanical filtration. The first-generation Ultravision System has already been used in over 50,000 “keyhole” laparoscopic and robotic procedures in Europe, the US and Japan, and independent industry studies have shown that in laparoscopic surgery, smoke is removed from the atmosphere up to 225-times faster than competing technologies.
There are also a multitude of benefits for patients. The technology reduces strain on the body by enabling surgeons to operate at lower abdominal pressure during laparoscopic and robotic procedures, reducing CO₂ usage by up to 82% while maintaining a clear surgical field. This approach is associated with reduced surgical procedure time as well as improved patient outcomes and recovery at a lower cost per procedure than other available advanced technologies.
Dr Dominic Griffiths, Founder and CEO of Alesi Surgical, says: “Electrosurgical tools have transformed modern surgery but also generate surgical smoke that affects the quality and efficiency of surgery and poses risks to operating theatre staff. For years, available solutions have required trade-offs between effectiveness and workflow disruption, slowing adoption across the industry. As awareness grows that smoke management is integral to surgical safety and efficiency, solutions that tackle smoke at its source, such as Ultravision2 which is FDA-approved and CE-marked, are becoming increasingly important for supporting the next generation of minimally invasive and robotic procedures.”
Why we invested
Isobel Egemole, Investment Director at IW Capital, says: “Surgical smoke is becoming an increasingly important priority for hospitals with a need to address both visibility and safety in the operating room, supported by growing regulatory and compliance tailwinds. Solutions that integrate seamlessly into surgical workflows will define the next phase of adoption.
“Alesi Surgical offers a fundamentally different approach to smoke management that addresses the problem at its source. As the industry moves toward smoke-free operating theatres becoming the norm, Ultravision2 is well positioned to play a key role.”
