The San Jose startup rebuilding intravascular ultrasound for the vessels legacy technology treats as an afterthought - with AI at the catheter tip.
Intravascular ultrasound, or IVUS, lets a physician see the inside of a blood vessel in real time - a cross-section from within the artery itself, captured by a tiny transducer threaded on a catheter. It is proven technology. It is also, by the admission of the clinicians who use it, underused. Evident Vascular, a medical device company founded in San Jose in 2023, has built its entire thesis on that contradiction.
The problem, as the company frames it, is a compromise. Legacy IVUS systems were designed first for the coronary arteries of the heart and only secondarily adapted for the peripheral vessels of the legs and pelvis, where much vascular disease actually lives. The result is a menu of trade-offs: sharper images that slow the procedure, or faster workflows that give up clarity. Evident Vascular is developing an AI-powered IVUS platform - branded, fittingly, Evident - meant to remove that choice.
“We under-utilize IVUS because available technologies force a compromise between image quality and workflow fit.”Peripheral Interventionalist, cited by Evident Vascular
Peripheral arterial disease is common, growing, and under-imaged - the combination investors chase and rarely find. Evident Vascular found it in a catheter.
The Evident IVUS platform delivers real-time, cross-sectional views of a blood vessel’s interior during minimally invasive procedures - letting physicians assess arterial and venous disease and confirm what an angiogram alone cannot show.
Artificial intelligence is applied to enhance image interpretation and streamline the clinical workflow - the part of IVUS that has historically slowed adoption. The goal is a system clinicians reach for by default, not only in hard cases.
Rather than borrow a coronary tool, Evident designs for peripheral arteries and veins from the start - guiding treatment decisions and optimizing stent placement where legacy systems fit least well.
Clearer imaging with a workflow that keeps pace means physicians can size vessels, characterize disease, and confirm results during the procedure - the promise of image-guided therapy, made routine.
Evident Vascular was co-founded in 2023 by a team of experienced medtech operators who share a single thesis: intravascular ultrasound is ripe for reinvention.
Leads the company’s strategy and its case that legacy IVUS was built for the heart first and the periphery second.
Chief technology officer, guiding the imaging and AI engineering behind the Evident platform.
Chief product officer, responsible for shaping the platform around real clinical workflow.
“Legacy IVUS platforms were originally designed primarily for coronary procedures and secondarily for peripheral vascular applications.”Howard Rosen, CEO & Co-Founder
Evident Vascular revealed itself in October 2023 alongside a fully committed $35 million Series A from Vensana Capital, a medtech-focused firm whose partners have backed companies including Inari Medical, CardiAQ and Cartiva. In March 2025 the company closed a Series B - amount undisclosed - adding new investor Shangbay Capital and, notably, two multinational strategic investors.
“Intravascular ultrasound is ripe for innovation.”Justin Klein, MD, JD · Vensana Capital
A classic medtech model: a capital console paired with single-use catheters, sold to hospitals and cath labs once the platform clears regulatory review. Pre-commercial today.
Interventional cardiologists, interventional radiologists and vascular surgeons treating peripheral arterial and venous disease - the clinicians performing 2M+ procedures a year in the U.S.
Established IVUS and intravascular imaging lines from Boston Scientific, Philips (Volcano) and Abbott. Evident’s wedge is a peripheral-first design rather than a coronary tool adapted second.
The road runs through the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Evident Vascular is developing toward a 510(k) clearance ahead of a planned commercial launch - funding first, launch second, which in regulated medtech is the order that keeps a company from shipping a product it cannot yet support.
Evident Vascular launches in San Jose and reveals itself with a $35M Series A from Vensana Capital to build an AI-powered IVUS platform for peripheral vascular interventions.
The company closes an undisclosed Series B - Shangbay Capital, founding investor Vensana Capital, and two multinational strategics - to accelerate development toward FDA clearance.
It develops an AI-powered intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) platform that gives physicians real-time cross-sectional images inside blood vessels to guide peripheral vascular interventions.
It was co-founded in 2023 by CEO Howard Rosen, CTO Patrick Phillips, Ph.D., and Chief Product Officer Danielo Piazza.
A $35 million Series A from Vensana Capital in 2023, plus an undisclosed Series B closed in March 2025 with additional investors including Shangbay Capital.
Not yet. The company is developing the platform and pursuing FDA 510(k) clearance ahead of a planned U.S. market launch.
Legacy IVUS was designed primarily for coronary procedures. Evident Vascular is building specifically for peripheral vessels and aims to eliminate the trade-off between image quality and workflow.
Interviews and product-demo videos were not publicly available at publication time. Check the company’s LinkedIn for the latest media.