VitalTrace

VitalTrace is a Western Australian medical device company developing continuous lactate monitoring (CLM) technology for obstetrics. Its flagship product, DelivAssure, is a clinical-stage continuous lactate biosensor intended to give obstetricians and midwives real-time, objective data on fetal wellbeing during childbirth. A small single-use electrode sensor is applied to the baby's scalp once the membranes have ruptured and the head is accessible; the sensor wirelessly transmits lactate readings to a bedside monitor, allowing the mother to move freely during labour. The company positions lactate as a direct biomarker of fetal hypoxia and acidosis, in contrast to fetal heart rate monitoring (CTG), which it describes as an indirect proxy, and to alternatives such as ST-analysis and fetal pulse oximetry.

The company frames the clinical problem as the absence of accurate, continuous, validated information for managing childbirth, citing figures including 20% of cerebral palsy cases arising during childbirth, a threefold increased risk of maternal death from caesarean sections, roughly $7 billion per annum in unnecessary health economic burden, and 25% of medical malpractice claims stemming from birth complications. Beyond labour, VitalTrace is extending its CLM platform into neonatal intensive care, adapting the sensor to detect elevated lactate in newborns as an early indicator of neonatal sepsis and other complications such as congenital heart disease and necrotising enterocolitis, with the aim of reducing repeated heel pricks and blood draws.

The leadership team is led by founder and CEO Dr Arjun Kaushik, a medical officer and honorary research fellow, alongside COO Dr Julian Shapley, CSO Dr Lee Hubble, Head of Regulatory and Quality Dr Celine Royet, and Chief Medical Officer Prof. Jonathan Morris, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist and former Director of the Kolling Institute of Medical Research. Non-executive directors include Dr Amy Pollack, a former global Director of Maternal, Newborn and Child Health at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and former Chief Safety Officer at Medtronic, and Julian Sutton of Welcome Ventures, with John Livingston as board observer. Advisers cover manufacturing, biosensors, midwifery, maternal-fetal medicine and commercialisation.

Founding story

VitalTrace was spun out of research at The University of Western Australia. Founder and CEO Dr Arjun Kaushik, a UWA medicine graduate, medical officer and honorary research fellow, established the company and led development of its fetal monitoring biosensor technology. Company materials date the founding to 2017, while press coverage reports 2016.

Business model

VitalTrace develops and manufactures a clinical-stage single-use biosensor and accompanying bedside monitor for hospital labour wards, supported by in-house biosensor manufacturing and clean room facilities configured for class III medical device production. Development has been supported in part by Western Australian government research and innovation grants and by private venture funding.

Traction

DelivAssure has been granted FDA Breakthrough Device Designation and has completed a world-first clinical trial, with trials conducted at King Edward Memorial Hospital and four sites across Australia. The company reports more than 45 employees and over $14 million raised across three rounds prior to its Series B process, and received a $500,000 Western Australian government grant in November 2025.

Latest developments

In July 2025 DelivAssure was featured on ABC News and other national media following clinical trials, and VitalTrace launched a Series B raise seeking $30 million. In November 2025 the company was awarded $500,000 under the Government of Western Australia's Future Health Research and Innovation Fund Innovative Solutions - Precision Health program to adapt its continuous lactate monitoring technology for neonatal intensive care.