Siren, a health tech startup founded by entrepreneur Ran Ma, has secured $9.5 million in funding to advance its innovative diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) prevention product, Siren Socks. The investment, led by Mölnlycke Health Care, brings the company's total funding to $43 million to date.

The need for effective DFU prevention solutions is pressing, with approximately 830 million people worldwide living with diabetes, over a third of whom can develop debilitating ulcers in their lifetime. These ulcers can lead to severe complications, including amputations in some cases. Siren's technology aims to address this critical issue by detecting early signs of potential foot injuries in real-time, reducing the risk of DFUs by up to 68% and amputations by 83%.

Siren Socks, the company's flagship product, contains sensors that monitor a patient's foot temperature and detect hotspots indicative of potential ulcers. This continuous temperature-monitoring technology enables early intervention, allowing healthcare professionals to take proactive measures to prevent complications. Ma, a biomedical engineering graduate from Johns Hopkins and Northwestern University, developed the first prototype of Siren Socks by hand, using sensors from RadioShack and an Arduino board from Maker Faire.

Ma's journey to creating Siren is a testament to her perseverance and dedication to addressing a critical healthcare need. Despite dropping out of school twice, she continued to work on her vision, eventually winning TechCrunch's Hardware Battlefield contest at Disrupt in 2017. Since then, Siren has attracted funding from prominent investors, including Khosla Ventures, DCM, Founders Fund, and Manta Ray Ventures, with Mölnlycke Health Care being its first strategic investor.

The DFU prevention market is gaining momentum, with competitors like Podimetrics and Orpyx also securing significant funding for their temperature-sensing mat and pressure-sensing insole technologies, respectively. This growing interest in innovative solutions highlights the urgent need for effective DFU prevention strategies and the potential for Siren's technology to make a meaningful impact in the healthcare industry.

With this latest investment, Siren is poised to further develop and expand the adoption of its Siren Socks technology, bringing hope to millions of people worldwide living with diabetes and at risk of developing debilitating foot ulcers.