Dr Katherine Arenson, Dr Nick Buckley and Dr Nikhilesh Bappoo founded VeinTech in 2020 to develop and commercialise a medical device to assist with correctly inserting a cannula into a vein in situations when intravenous access is difficult.
Dr Arenson was the embryonic reason behind VeinTech, with decades of clinical experience living the unmet need, and combined with Dr Bappoo’s track record in medical devices and research in engineering blood vessels, VeinTech conceptualised an ultrasound-based device to target the right vein, first time, every time.
Since their early days taking part in Perth Biodesign, VeinTech has combined local innovation with a strong ‘going global’ mindset, actively building strategic partnerships that have enabled their vision to make a ‘simple’ procedure simple, whilst unlocking improved patient satisfaction and boosting skills of the healthcare workforce.
The team came up with the concept for the device during the Perth Biodesign 2019 program. Perth Biodesign provides training in healthcare innovation using the Stanford Biodesign methodology, with the flagship course bringing together multidisciplinary teams of people passionate about making a difference in healthcare to find and validate an unmet medical need and develop a solution to address it. The course is administered by the University of Western Australia as part of the WA Life Sciences Innovation Hub (WALSIH) and is a key capability-building pillar supporting healthcare innovation in the state.
Supported throughout their journey by WALSIH, these collaborations have helped pave the way for the company’s entry into global markets and secured opportunities that will fuel their next phase of growth.
Funding Track Record
Since incorporating as a company, VeinTech has had a strong track record of attracting non-dilutive funding, something the founders credit their Biodesign training with.
“As the primary writer of grants and lead in capital raising, understanding how to pitch your vision in a way that is appealing to every relevant stakeholder was a great skill to build,” Dr Bappoo, now the company’s CEO, said.
This funding has included: micro-seed funding through the Biodesign NEXT program; multiple grants from the Western Australian Government’s New Industries Fund, Investment Attraction Fund (via the Springboard Medical Manufacturing Alliance) and Future Health Research and Innovation (FHRI) Fund; the highly competitive federal Accelerating Commercialisation and CRC-P schemes; and WALSIH’s WA Medical Manufacturing Voucher Program.
In particular, the WALSIH funding enabled VeinTech to invest in building in-house manufacturing capability, which led to a key milestone of raising seed funding in 2022. VeinTech has now successfully raised dilutive funding from Australian-based investors totalling over $2M.
A testimony to the collaborative ecosystem that it was created in, VeinTech has always been committed to supporting the growth of the WA ecosystem. This is demonstrated by their partnerships with Perth-based product developers and manufacturers, joining the Springboard Medical Manufacturing Alliance, and over 35 university interns the team has hosted through UWA’s workplace integrated learning program and the iPREP program, which is also delivered by UWA under the WALSIH banner.
VeinTech has continued to build in-house medical device manufacturing infrastructure within their WA offices, proving that local production of their novel device is not only possible, but a key step towards scaling.
Led by Lead Quality and Lead Production R&D Engineer Matthew Redknap, over the past 12 months the team has produced and tested ten devices for patient studies, trained seven employees across four assembly processes, and passed an internal ISO 13485 audit to ensure compliant, scalable production. This manufacturing capability de-risks their supply chain and positions them for growth.
Working with WALSIH
WALSIH has provided significant in-kind support to the VeinTech team from the very beginning of their journey. WALSIH’s Director of Biomedical and Health Innovation Professor Kevin Pfleger has mentored, supported, and advised the team since their inception, with a particular focus on strategy, and remains Board Advisor having been the inaugural Chair of the VeinTech Advisory Board. The VeinTech team has continued to utilise WALSIH’s concierge services and received support for funding and facilitating connections, including opportunities like attending the MedTech Conference delegation to the US in 2023.
In 2025, the company became the first beneficiary of the Perth Biodesign–New England Medical Innovation Center (NEMIC) BioBridge, securing USD $750,000 in non-dilutive funding from the Rhode Island Life Science Hub to support US expansion.
The BioBridge was established in early 2024 to provide Perth Biodesign and NEMIC’s associated startup companies with insights and guidance to navigate the US and Australian health and medical life sciences ecosystems, respectively.
“Perth Biodesign and NEMIC have similar philosophies and cultures in their quest to support entrepreneurship and innovation,” Professor Pfleger said. “It is therefore an absolute pleasure to continue building this relationship”.
Ahead of the BIO International Convention 2025 held in Boston, Professor Pfleger and WALSIH’s Director of Stakeholder Engagement Dr Tracey Wilkinson visited NEMIC with WA’s Trade and Investment Commissioner to the Americas, Brianna Peake, strengthening connections that will benefit other WA medtech companies looking to establish a US presence.
VeinTech’s US office is now underway in Rhode Island, alongside growing strategic partnerships in the international medtech industry.
As VeinTech marks its fifth anniversary, the company continues to grow rapidly, always keeping patients at the centre of their mission to find the right vein, first time, every time.
WALSIH is proud to have supported this journey from inception to global expansion and looks forward to seeing the next chapter of this WA medtech success story unfold.
WALSIH is a partnership between MTPConnect, the Western Australian Government and the University of Western Australia (UWA) to accelerate the growth of the state’s health and medical life sciences sector, create new jobs and support economic diversification.