A sensor small enough to sit inside a child’s head, with no battery and no wires. That is what Kitea Health, a University of Auckland spinout, has built.
The condition
Hydrocephalus is a build up of fluid on the brain. It affects around a million people in the US alone. The usual treatment is a shunt, a tube that drains the fluid away.
The problem
Around half of shunts in children fail within the first two years. The warning signs are headaches, nausea, tiredness and irritability, which also describes a kid having a bad day. So parents are constantly guessing, and the only way to know for sure is a trip to the emergency department.
The device
- About 0.3 grams, roughly a sesame seed
- 20mm long and a few millimetres wide
- No battery, no wires, no electrodes
- Designed to stay in place permanently
A handheld wand held near the head powers the sensor, reads the pressure inside the brain and sends it to a phone app in seconds. At home, not in a hospital.
The trials
The first child received the implant at Auckland City Hospital. So far 21 patients, aged 18 months to 84 years, have received it, with no device failures or adverse events reported. A pivotal trial of 150 people across New Zealand and the US is next.
The money
Kitea closed an oversubscribed NZ$13M round in late 2025. The research behind it was backed by a $12M grant from MBIE’s Endeavour Fund back in 2017, and early investors include Icehouse Ventures, Pacific Channel and Cure Kids Ventures. The company is led by co-founder Professor Simon Malpas.
My read
Those parents were already reading their kid’s face for a number nobody could measure. Now the number just shows up on a phone. It is a great example of public research money turning into a real company. The US trial is the test that matters now.