For a patient with heart failure, the most important number isn't on a lab slip or a hospital monitor. It's the cardiac filling pressure, a measure of fluid buildup in the heart that signals a high risk of a sudden, debilitating hospitalization. Today, measuring it requires an invasive catheterization in a hospital. A Slovak startup, Seerlinq, is betting that a two-minute smartphone reading at home can provide the same warning, and that insurance companies will pay for it [Perplexity Sonar Pro Brief].
Founded in 2022, the company has built a certified Class IIb medical device that analyzes subtle changes in a patient's photoplethysmography (PPG) signal, the same optical data used by a smartwatch to measure heart rate [EU-Startups, March 2026]. Their system, which includes a proprietary device, a blood-pressure cuff, and a smartphone app, is designed to catch deterioration days before a crisis, allowing clinicians to adjust medication and keep patients stable at home [Perplexity Sonar Pro Brief]. As of late 2026, more than 200 patients and over 50 physicians in Slovakia were using the program, with the service reimbursed by public health insurance [Seerlinq, November 2026].
A clinical wedge for a chronic disease
The company's commercial wedge is starkly clinical. Heart failure is a progressive, chronic condition where the heart cannot pump blood effectively. Patients often experience a cycle of stability followed by acute decompensation, leading to frequent and costly hospital readmissions. The standard of care involves monitoring symptoms like weight gain and shortness of breath, but these are lagging indicators. Seerlinq's technology aims to provide a leading indicator by non-invasively estimating left ventricular filling pressure (LVFP), a key hemodynamic parameter that rises as the heart struggles [JACC: Basic to Translational Science, January 2025]. The promise is to shift care from reactive hospitalization to proactive, remote management.
The team behind the signal
The founding team reflects the necessary blend of deep clinical expertise and technical rigor. Chief Executive Allan Böhm is a practicing cardiologist at Slovakia's National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, a Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology, and holds an MBA [NextStep Science Podcast]. Co-founder and Head of Research Branislav Bezák is a cardiac surgeon and a member of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery Innovation Committee [LinkedIn]. The third co-founder, Nikola Jajcay, serves as Chief Technology Officer, bringing a computer science background from Charles University in Prague to develop the machine learning algorithms that interpret the PPG signals [Perplexity Sonar Pro Brief]. This combination has helped the company navigate the stringent EU Medical Device Regulation (MDR) pathway to achieve Class IIb certification, a designation for medium-to-high-risk devices that requires review by a Notified Body [PatientGuard].
| Role | Name | Key Background |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Executive & Co-founder | Allan Böhm, MD, PhD, MBA | Cardiologist, FESC, Faculty at Comenius University [NextStep Science Podcast] |
| Head of Research & Co-founder | Branislav Bezák, MD, PhD | Cardiac Surgeon, Member of EACTS Innovation Committee [LinkedIn] |
| Chief Technology Officer & Co-founder | Nikola Jajcay | Computer Scientist, Charles University [Perplexity Sonar Pro Brief] |
| Chief Product Officer | Stefan Karolcik, PhD | Leads product development for non-invasive solutions [Forbes.sk] |
| Chief Operating Officer | Dávid Oros | IT specialist and former cloud architect [Perplexity Sonar Pro Brief] |
Traction and the reimbursement moat
Seerlinq's early progress is measured in patients, physicians, and payer contracts. The company operates a nationwide telemedicine program in its home country, where the device is lent to patients without a co-payment [EU-Startups, March 2026]. This reimbursement by Slovak public health insurance is a critical early validation of its clinical and economic value proposition. The company has also secured reimbursement in Germany, Europe's largest healthcare market, though the public record does not detail patient numbers there [LinkedIn]. The 200-patient milestone, while modest, represents a foundational cohort for gathering real-world data to refine its AI models and demonstrate outcomes.
Funding has followed this regulatory and commercial groundwork. Public databases report a seed round of approximately $982,000 in July 2023, with investors including Slovak Investment Holding and Vision Ventures [VCBacked, July 2023]. In a 2025 interview, CEO Allan Böhm indicated the company had received a "first 1 million investment" and was seeking to raise €3 million, with €1 million already committed [Life Science Intelligence, December 2025]. This capital is likely earmarked for scaling its commercial operations, suggested by a slate of open roles for sales representatives and business developers in Slovakia [Seerlinq].
The risks of scaling a medical device
The path from a successful pilot in Central Europe to global adoption is lined with significant hurdles. The company's technology, while innovative, must prove itself in larger, more diverse patient populations beyond its initial 200 users. Peer-reviewed clinical validation beyond the initial studies will be essential for convincing a broader cardiology community and regulatory bodies like the U.S. FDA, which the company has cited as a future target [Life Science Intelligence, December 2025].
- Clinical proof. While the underlying PPG analysis is published, broader outcomes data showing reduced hospitalizations and improved quality of life will be the ultimate measure for payers and providers.
- Commercial expansion. Replicating the reimbursement success in Slovakia within the complex, fragmented German healthcare system and beyond represents a major commercial execution challenge.
- Competitive landscape. Although no direct competitors are named in sources, the remote patient monitoring space for heart failure is crowded with weight scales, implantable devices, and other wearable technologies. Seerlinq must clearly communicate the unique clinical value of its filling-pressure metric.
The company's most plausible answer to these challenges lies in its foundational strategy: starting with a deep clinical wedge, securing reimbursement as a prerequisite for scale, and building a team that speaks the language of both the clinic and the algorithm.
The next twelve months
For Seerlinq, the coming year will be defined by the deployment of its next funding round and the pursuit of concrete milestones that move beyond early traction. Key watch points include a significant increase in its German patient cohort, the publication of longer-term outcomes data from its Slovak program, and potential progress toward FDA pre-submission activities. The expansion into a new 400-square-meter office in Bratislava suggests preparations for growth [Ján Slopovský, LinkedIn].
The ambition here is not just to sell devices, but to change the management paradigm for the millions of people living with heart failure. Today, the standard of care for monitoring these patients is often a bathroom scale and a diary of symptoms, a blunt instrument that fails as often as it succeeds. Hospitalization remains a frequent, traumatic, and expensive event. Seerlinq is proposing a more precise, continuous, and preventative layer of insight, derived from a signal the body is already emitting. For patients navigating the daily uncertainty of a weakening heart, that kind of early warning could mean the difference between a managed adjustment at home and another ambulance ride.
Sources
- [EU-Startups, March 2026] Seerlinq article | https://www.eu-startups.com
- [JACC: Basic to Translational Science, January 2025] Research on PPG analysis for LVFP | https://www.sciencedirect.com
- [LinkedIn] Profiles for Allan Böhm, Branislav Bezák, and company updates | https://www.linkedin.com
- [NextStep Science Podcast] Allan Böhm podcast interview | https://nextstepscience.podbean.com
- [PatientGuard] Explanation of Class IIb medical devices | https://patientguard.com
- [Seerlinq, November 2026] Patient and physician milestone announcement | https://seerlinq.com/novinky/viac-nez-200-pacientov-50-lekarov-program-seerlinq-rastie
- [VCBacked, July 2023] Funding round details | https://o.parsers.vc/startup/seerlinq.com/