Alesi Surgical raises £7M to clear the air in operating theatres

Cardiff-based surgical technology startup, Alesi Surgical, has secured £7 million in fresh funding to accelerate the rollout of its Ultravision platform designed to eliminate surgical smoke – a pervasive hazard in operating theatres worldwide.

Surgical smoke is generated in roughly 90% of the estimated 266 million surgical procedures performed globally each year. While 95% of the smoke is water vapour, the remaining fraction can carry viable viruses, bacteria, and harmful chemicals – creating both an infection risk and a longer-term toxicity hazard for theatre staff who are routinely exposed over the course of their careers. It can also cloud surgeons’ visibility at critical moments.

Despite the risks involved, adoption of smoke management technology has historically been slow. Existing extraction systems – based on suction and mechanical filtration – have a reputation for being bulky, noisy, and disruptive to workflow.

“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,” said Dr Dominic Griffiths, Founder and CEO, Alesi Surgical. “For years, available solutions have required trade-offs between effectiveness and workflow disruption, slowing adoption across the industry.”

Regulatory momentum is building behind the issue. Twenty US states have now passed legislation requiring smoke management in operating theatres, and the broader trend is toward smoke-free theatres becoming a standard of care rather than an optional upgrade.

Alesi’s approach is different to the standard. Its Ultravision platform uses electrostatic precipitation to actively neutralise smoke as it is produced, rather than trying to extract it after the fact. Independent studies in laparoscopic surgery found the system removes smoke from the operating field up to 225 times faster than competing technologies.

The first-generation system has already been used in more than 50,000 keyhole laparoscopic and robotic procedures across Europe, the United States, and Japan. The newer Ultravision2, which has received both FDA approval and CE marking, extends that capability to open surgery – a setting where previous solutions have failed to gain traction – and can be combined with Alesi’s own tissue dissection tools.

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The company also claims patient benefits beyond visibility. By maintaining a clear surgical field at lower abdominal pressure, the technology reduces carbon dioxide usage during laparoscopic procedures by up to 82%, with associated reductions in procedure time and recovery costs.

Isobel Egemole, Investment Director at IW Capital, commented: “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.”