The Kent-based medical-device company Michelson Diagnostics has developed a new technology that allows doctors to “see below the surface of the skin”, after raising £2.5 million in a funding round led by global medical-technology business Smith & Nephew.

The company, which focuses on multi-beam optical coherence tomography (OCT) technology, has closed the first tranche of its £4 million Series B financing, which included new investor Kent County Council as well as existing investors.

The £2.5 million investment will be used to expand the company’s commercial presence in Germany, launch its next-generation VivoSight OCT tissue-imaging system, complete the on-going US multi-centre clinical biopsy avoidance study and explore further applications of the VivoSight system in areas such as wound care and dentistry.

VivoSight is a point-of-care tissue-imaging system that allows users to see below the surface of the skin — non-invasively and with continuous high-definition images.

Using VivoSight, medical professionals can non-invasively obtain images of the epidermis and superficial dermis of the skin and make an accurate pain-free diagnosis in real time. The company’s initial clinical application is for the diagnosis of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC).

Michelson Diagnostics chairman Brian Howlett said: “We are delighted to welcome Smith & Nephew both as a new investor and also to our board. This move not only validates our technology and the commercial impact that the VivoSight OCT system is demonstrating in NMSC imaging and diagnosis, but equally underscores the future potential of OCT imaging in other clinical modalities beyond dermatology.”