Ohio’s CardioX brings total 2009 funding to more than $1 million

DUBLIN, Ohio — CardioX, which is developing technology to detect heart defects, recently completed about $780,000 in addition fund-raising — bringing its private equity funding for 2009 to just more than $1 million, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company is creating a non-invasive way to detect right-to-left heart shunts (essentially, a hole in the heart), which in some people can lead to strokes, heart attacks and migraine headaches. CardioX’s approach would combine an injection with a sensor on the ear, coupled with breathing exercises, to determine the presence of the shunt. The procedure is less invasive than the current method, in which a probe is pushed down the throat to the heart, and it can also be used to test whether repair attempts were successful.

CardioX hopes to start clinical studies by the end of the year.

As notable as the technology has been CardioX’s position as a poster-child for start up opportunities in Ohio and the Midwest. The company was featured in both BusinessWeek and the Wall Street Journal for finding local funding to keep operating in the Midwest. The company is run by Philip Eggers, who has managed five other businesses before CardioX.

This latest round, announced earlier this month, is coupled with an SEC filing in June in which CardioX said it raised $300,000. Investors include TechColumbus and Resevoir Venture Partners.