Canadian healthtech company Sparrow BioAcoustics has raised $10 million CAD in fresh equity funding to expand its Health Canada–approved smartphone stethoscope app across hospitals in North America.
The round was led by Killick Capital and Klister Credit, with participation from Pelorus VC, Brinex, and the family office of former Verafin VP Kevin Baker. The investment will accelerate deployment of Sparrow’s Stethophone platform — a mobile app that transforms smartphones into medical-grade stethoscopes powered by patented bioacoustics technology.
“This round ensures we can scale responsibly through this critical phase — supporting hospitals and patients with the same focus on quality and outcomes that brought us here,” said Mark Opauszky, CEO of Sparrow BioAcoustics. “It’s about maintaining momentum while continuing to deliver real clinical value where it’s needed most.”
Turning Smartphones Into Diagnostic Tools
Founded in 2019, Sparrow BioAcoustics developed Stethophone, an FDA- and Health Canada–cleared app that enables users to listen to, record, and analyze heart sounds directly through their smartphones.
The app captures audio through a phone’s built-in microphone, which is then processed into spectrograms and oscillograms — visual sound maps that help clinicians identify abnormalities such as murmurs, arrhythmias, or valve defects.
Sparrow’s patented bioacoustics algorithms are designed to make heart sounds more audible and clinically useful than those from traditional stethoscopes. The system can be used by both medical professionals and consumers, making cardiac screening more accessible and scalable.
“In the past year, about 40,000 patients and practitioners have used Stethophone, uncovering thousands of cardiac anomalies that might otherwise have gone unnoticed,” said Dr. Yaroslav Shpak, Sparrow’s co-founder and Chief Medical Officer.
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Expanding Across the U.S. and Canada
Sparrow’s technology is currently being adopted by major health systems across the United States, with a particular focus on early detection of valvular heart disease — a leading cause of cardiac failure.
“We have a high-accuracy, scalable solution and several new developments to bring to market,” said Opauszky. “Canada is not far behind.”
The company plans to use the new funding to expand clinical integrations, scale its AI-driven analysis capabilities, and strengthen partnerships with healthcare providers across North America.
A Personal Mission
Opauszky, who previously led Toronto-based PathFactory, joined Sparrow in 2021 after surviving a near-fatal case of necrotizing fasciitis in 2019 — an experience that reshaped his perspective on healthcare innovation.
“That experience made me deeply aware of the gap between what’s possible in medicine and what’s accessible,” he said. “At Sparrow, our mission is to close that gap — by making powerful diagnostic tools available through the devices people already carry.”
About Sparrow BioAcoustics
Sparrow BioAcoustics develops AI-powered digital health tools that make advanced diagnostics accessible through everyday devices. Its flagship product, Stethophone, turns smartphones into medical-grade stethoscopes cleared for use by both clinicians and consumers. The platform combines bioacoustics, AI, and cloud-based analytics to help detect heart disease earlier and expand access to life-saving screening.
