Magenta Medical Ltd, an Israeli start-up founded by cardiology veterans and backed by miniaturized heart pump specialist Abiomed, has reeled in $15m in Series B financing. The additional capital will enable the company to take its catheter-based therapy for acute heart failure through clinical trials and beyond CE-mark approval.

The neuromodulation market is growing at a rapid pace and investors and strategics are paying close attention to early-stage innovators. We highlight Cardionomic, Nuviant and Pixium, three young companies that are listening to the brain, fixing broken hearts and making the blind see.

At $1.2 billion, Q4 device financing was the second-lowest quarter of 2015; M&A dollar volume was also low, but included multiple deals across various cardiovascular markets. Diagnostics financing was also down in Q4, totaling $403 million; acquisitions were worth $441 million.

Our 12th annual analysis reveals both an expansion of historical patterns of Series A financings and the emergence of a new group of heavily committed, relatively short-term investors.