Draft:Profusa

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  • Comment: Unfortunately these sources still don't seem to make the grade. BuySomeApples (talk) 00:28, 11 February 2024 (UTC)
  • Comment: To save us having to plough through 33 (!) sources, most of which seem useless in terms of establishing notability, could the author please point out the 3-5 strongest ones. We're looking for reliable secondary sources, which are entirely independent of the subject, and which provide significant coverage directly of Profusa and not of any related matters. Thank you. DoubleGrazing (talk) 11:59, 14 January 2024 (UTC)

  1. The Forbes ( can be a very reputable source) article provides significant independent coverage. There is no evidence from the article itself that Profusa sponsored it or is related to the articles conception. I'm aware of the policy regarding WP: ForbesCon but the particular author of the article is a an expert in the field
  2. the Medgadet article also provides significant coverage and there is no evidence from the article itself that Profusa sponsored or is related to the articles conception.
  3. The article written by the U.S. Air Force also provides significant coverage by a source independent of Profusa
  4. the Mashable article provides significant independent coverage. There is no evidence from the article itself that Profusa sponsored it or is related to the article’s conception.
  5. The Miss.at article focused only on Profusa, showing there's international independent coverage of Profusa

and then we get into the conspiracy theories about Profusa which received significant independent news coverag (NOT just fleeting mentions)

Footnotes 26-29

I don't know if you're based in the United States, but 60 Minutes is a big deal over there. Wickster12345 (talk) 23:29, 25 January 2024 (UTC)

I just wanted to add that even IF the FORBES article is not counted that is still 4 secondary, independent sources. I am not counting the Endovascular Today article because it seems, at second glance, that one of the authors has stock in Profusa. Wickster12345 (talk) 23:34, 25 January 2024 (UTC)

Furthermore, the article titled "A Military-Funded Biosensor Could Be the Future of Pandemic Detection - Defense One" could be seen as a 5th or 6th (depending on whether FORBES is counted= secondary, independent source because it does not refer back to or mirror any Profusa press releases, is clearly independent from Profusa: "Defense One provides news, analysis, and ideas about the future of national security to defense and industry leaders, innovative decision-makers"[1]

Wickster12345 (talk) 23:44, 25 January 2024 (UTC)


Profusa is a digital health and medical device company based in Emeryville, California that creates wearable biosensors to get greater continuous insight into human health.

The company was cofounded in 2009 by Bill McMillan, Natalie Wisniewski and Kurt Petersen.[2] It raised $45M in Series C financing in 2018, from a group of predominantly Asia-based investors, such as 3E Bioventures Capital, VMS Investment Group, Tasly Pharmaceutical Group, and the ventures arm of the American company Maxim Integrated.[3]

A 2016 article in Forbes profiling Profusa described its sensing product, Lumee, as a “wearable biointegrated sensor.... that allows for long-term continuous monitoring of body chemistry.”[4] Profusa’s sensor is placed under the skin subcutaneously (in a non-surgical procedure) where it remains without needing to be removed, as it overcomes the foreign body response.[5][6] Profusa has to date attained European regulatory approval for Wireless Lumee Oxygen Platform, a sensing system to continuously measure oxygen levels in Peripheral Arterial Disease patients with impaired blood flow in their lower extremities.[7][8] This approval was granted on the basis of a multi-center clinical trial in Germany and Austria which showed that the sensing system could predict whether a given Critical Limb Ischemia’s patients foot wounds would heal or not, based on changes in Oxygen levels in the foot.[9] In 2018, Profusa and Lumee were profiled in the peer-reviewed journal Endovascular Today.[10]

In 2018, Frost & Sullivan awarded Profusa the award for Innovation in the Biochemical Sensors Market.[11]

Profusa sensing technology has also been used by academic researchers in animal model applications.[12] The company is also building long-lasting continuous glucose monitor, which has been featured in several books written about diabetes and disease treatment.[13][14][15] Other scientific articles have compared Profusa’s fully invasive glucose monitoring sensor with an existing system manufactured by Senseonics, with the notable difference that the former (unlike the latter) does need to be removed and contains no electronics to be inserted.[16]

Profusa has utilized DARPA, U.S. Air Force and NIH research grants to facilitate its research and development, with relevant studies conducted at Duke University and Imperial College, among other sites.[17][18][19][20] These programs include using oxygen sensors to predict influenza and Covid-19 outbreaks on a population level. [21] [22]

The U.S. Air Force has also sponsored Profusa through grants, with its pilots using the company's proprietary lactate sensor to test the monitoring of pilot performance.[23]

Conspiracy theories[edit]

Profusa has been the subject of several conspiracy theories due to the nature of its technology. One in particular explored the use of Profusa Oxygen sensors in early flu and COVID-19 detection, being investigated by DARPA.[24][25][26] This led to accusations that the U.S. government was building government tracking microchips.

These conspiracy theories, and Profusa’s connection to them, have been covered in different American media outlets. Responding to an inquiry from USA Today for the purpose of an article on the topic, Jared Adams, chief of communications for DARPA, stated in 2021 that “Profusa’s technology is not a hydrogel chip that will connect you to the Internet".[27] Newsweek also covered a separate but related controversy in 2020 about DARPA testing Profusa’s sensor for early flu detection.[28] This referred to a conspiracy theory initially advanced by conservative author Thomas Horn on a show hosted by televangelist Jim Bakker. Other outlets also covered this conspiracy theory.[29] Profusa technology was additionally featured on a 60 Minutes segment about the U.S. government’s response to COVID-19 in terms of investing in research related to emerging technologies.[30] There were books written about Profusa-related conspiracy theories in language other than English.[31]

Profusa was also profiled in an article by left-wing news site MintPress News where its technology was stated to "open the door to the potential manipulation of our biological responses and, ultimately, our entire existence".[32]

SPAC transaction[edit]

On November 7th of 2022, Profusa announced it would be going public in a SPAC transaction with NorthView Acquisition Corp, already listed on NASDAQ as NVAC. In response to the SPAC filing, some commentators highlighted the difficulty of Profusa achieving its vision to challenge Dexcom and Abbott’s dominance in the continuous glucose monitoring space, citing reimbursement and other commercialization hurdles.[33] Northview has submitted multiple drafts of a formal filing for the SPAC merger, an S-4 form, to the SEC, the response to which remains pending as of September 12th 2023. Upon approval, Northview and Profusa have declared the newly formed entity would trade under the name Profusa and the ticker symbol of PFSA.[34]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Defense One". Defense One. 2024-01-25. Retrieved 2024-01-25.
  2. ^ Coleman, Susan; Robb, Alicia M. (2016). The next wave: financing women's growth-oriented firms. Stanford, California: Stanford Economics and Finance, an imprint of Stanford University Press. pp. 136–140. ISBN 978-1-5036-0098-0.
  3. ^ Pillay, Rubin (2018). Healthcare 3.0: How Technology Is Driving the Transition to Prosumers, Platforms and Outsurance. XLibris US. ISBN 9781984556677.
  4. ^ Kite-Powell, Jennifer. "Beyond Fitness Trackers At CES: Tiny Wearable Biosensor Continuously Monitors Your Body Chemistry". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-09-03.
  5. ^ "Health Risk Management: The value of real-time monitoring of body chemistries". Swiss Reinsurance Company. 2017. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  6. ^ Editors, Medgadget (2018-03-28). "Profusa's Tiny Implantable Sensors Keep Working in Patients Even After Four Years |". Medgadget. Retrieved 2024-01-11. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  7. ^ "Profusa Receives CE Mark Approval to Market the Wireless Lumee® Oxygen Platform for Continuous, Real-Time Monitoring of Tissue Oxygen" (Press release). Profusa, Inc. Retrieved 2023-09-03 – via www.prnewswire.com.
  8. ^ Latifi, Rifat; Rhee, Peter; Gruessner, Rainer W. G. (2015). Technological advances in surgery, trauma and critical care. New York: Springer. p. 28. ISBN 978-1-4939-2671-8.
  9. ^ Hudson, Jocelyn (2020-01-30). "Profusa Lumee oxygen platform may improve clinical management of patients with CLI". Vascular News. Retrieved 2023-09-03.
  10. ^ Schwindt, Arne (May 2018). "Potential Utility of Tissue Oxygen Sensors in Perfusion Monitoring" (PDF). Endovascular Today. 17 (5): 60–64.
  11. ^ Inc, Profusa. "Profusa Recognized by Frost & Sullivan For Innovation in the Biochemical Sensors Market". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved 2024-01-11. {{cite press release}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  12. ^ Vo-Dinh, Tuan (3 October 2017). Nanotechnology in Biology and Medicine (2nd ed.). 2017: CRC Press. ISBN 9781439893791.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  13. ^ Williams, Angela (2020). Disease Management (3rd ed.). Info base. ISBN 9780780817777.
  14. ^ Ball, Marion (2022). Hübner, Ursula H.; Mustata Wilson, Gabriela; Morawski, Toria Shaw; Ball, Marion J. (eds.). Nursing Informatics: a Health Informatics, Interprofessional and Global Perspective (Fifth ed.). Cham: Springer. p. 800. ISBN 978-3-030-91237-6.
  15. ^ Zhang, Yan (2022). "iSensor and iMedicine for human health". Frontiers Research Topics. 16648714: 191–192. Bibcode:2022FrCh...1007145C. doi:10.3389/fchem.2022.1107145. ISBN 978-2-8325-1013-1. PMC 9752086. PMID 36531310.
  16. ^ Didyuk, Olesya; Econom, Nicolas; Guardia, Angelica; Livingston, Kelsey; Klueh, Ulrike (2020-01-13). "Continuous Glucose Monitoring Devices: Past, Present, and Future Focus on the History and Evolution of Technological Innovation". Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology. 15 (3): 676–683. doi:10.1177/1932296819899394. ISSN 1932-2968. PMC 8120065. PMID 31931614.
  17. ^ Huntley, Alyssa (July 12, 2016). "Profusa awarded $7.5M DARPA grant to work on implantable biosensors". Fiercebiotech. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  18. ^ "Profusa and Partners Announce DARPA-Backed Study to Measure Early Signs of Influenza". Global Biodefense. 2020-03-11. Retrieved 2023-09-03.
  19. ^ "Injectable oxygen sensor could improve monitoring for peripheral artery disease | NHLBI, NIH". www.nhlbi.nih.gov. 2019-09-09. Retrieved 2023-09-03.
  20. ^ "AFRL partnership advancing wearable sensor technology". Air Force Materiel Command. 2019-04-24. Retrieved 2023-09-03.[permanent dead link]
  21. ^ Kraus, Rachel (2020-03-06). "Injecting this sensor under your skin could prevent future pandemics". Mashable. Retrieved 2024-01-11.
  22. ^ "Coronavirus: Dieser Biosensor soll künftig vor Pandemien schützen". miss.at - Beauty | Fashion | Lifestyle | Stars (in German). 2020-03-09. Retrieved 2024-01-11.
  23. ^ "AFRL partnership advancing wearable sensor technology". Robins Air Force Base. 2019-04-24. Retrieved 2024-01-11.
  24. ^ Apr 16, Marianne Guenot; 2021; Et, 8:06 Am. "Sensor injected under skin, backed by DARPA, may spot COVID-19 early". Business Insider. Retrieved 2023-09-03. {{cite web}}: |last2= has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  25. ^ "A Military-Funded Biosensor Could Be the Future of Pandemic Detection". Defense One. 2020-03-03. Retrieved 2023-09-03.
  26. ^ Kraus, Rachel (2020-03-06). "Injecting this sensor under your skin could prevent future pandemics". Mashable. Retrieved 2023-09-03.
  27. ^ Vercellone, Chiara. "Fact Check: Military-funded sensor can help detect COVID-19, but it's not a microchip". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2023-09-13.
  28. ^ Keeley, Matt (2020-03-17). "Conservative Author Warns Coronavirus 'Could Give Rise to the Antichrist'". Newsweek. Retrieved 2023-09-03.
  29. ^ Spencer, Saranac Hale (2021-08-27). "Health Sensors Misconstrued as Government Tracking 'Microchips'". FactCheck.org. Retrieved 2023-09-03.
  30. ^ "Military programs aiming to end pandemics forever - 60 Minutes - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. 2021-04-11. Retrieved 2023-09-13.
  31. ^ Nehls, Michael (2022). Herdengesundheit: Der Weg aus der Corona-Krise und die natürliche Alternative zum globalen Impfprogramm. Germany: Mental Enterprises. ISBN 9783755408321.
  32. ^ Editors, Medgadget (2018-03-28). "Profusa's Tiny Implantable Sensors Keep Working in Patients Even After Four Years |". Medgadget. Retrieved 2024-01-11. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  33. ^ "NorthView Acquisition Corp. (NVAC) to Combine with Profusa in $416M Deal|SPACInsider". new.spacinsider.com. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  34. ^ "Inline XBRL Viewer". www.sec.gov. Retrieved 2023-09-13.