Sensor aims to detect IV problems in premature babies at an earlier stage

Start-up Sencilia, which emerged from the Engineering and Technology Institute Groningen (ENTEG) at the University of Groningen, has raised approximately 2 million euros for the further development of a sensor that measures whether babies and children are receiving the correct dose of medication via a drip. With this investment, the company aims to make the technology ready for production.

Premature babies and unwell children are often given medication in very small doses. If an IV drip malfunctions or flows too quickly, healthcare providers do not always notice this in time: an IV pump calculates the dose it is administering but does not directly measure what is actually passing through the tube.

Sencilia’s sensor, Rely-V, is attached to the outside of a standard infusion tube. It measures the actual flow rate, down to 0.1 millilitres per hour. That is approximately two drops per hour. The sensor does not come into contact with the medication, so healthcare professionals hardly need to change the way they work. In laboratory tests in a simulated NICU, Rely-V detected a blocked infusion line within a minute, whilst the infusion pump took an hour or more to do so.

‘A premature baby weighing less than one kilo sometimes has less than 100 millilitres of blood, and unlike a healthy adult, the brain is not yet able to regulate its own blood supply properly. If a medicine that supports blood circulation is interrupted, or if the flow suddenly surges, this can have consequences within minutes. ‘We want nurses to spot such a disruption in the drip straight away, before it becomes a clinical problem,’ says Secilia founder Amar Kamat.

From research group to company

Before founding Sencilia, Kamat worked as a postdoc in Professor Ajay Kottapalli’s research group at the University of Groningen. It was there that the foundations for Sencilia were laid, building on Kottapalli’s previous experience with flow sensors for monitoring IV drips.

With the funding, Sencilia is developing the prototype towards production, collecting more clinical data and seeking partnerships with manufacturers of infusion pumps and infusion sets. Several of these companies are already testing the sensor on their own equipment. Sencilia is based at the Zernike Campus in Groningen.

Kamat also sees this funding round as an opportunity for the company to grow. ‘Groningen plays an important role in this: many team members started at Sencilia as students, interns or through small projects, and we have carried out several joint research projects with the University of Groningen’s Bioinspired MEMS and Biomedical Devices (BMBD) research group,’ he says.

Early-stage investors are participating again

The funding round is led by the NOM, the development agency for the Northern Netherlands. RUG Ventures and Triade, which invested in Sencilia at its inception, are participating again, as are Future Tech Ventures, imec.istart and private investors with a background in the infusion industry.

‘Since Future Tech Ventures’ initial investment in August 2025, Sencilia has made significant progress. The company has further developed the technology, gained a clearer understanding of where it can make the biggest difference, and gained experience through trials with companies and healthcare professionals,’ says Hilbrand van der Zee, Investment Manager at Future Tech Ventures.

Clinical trial in Rotterdam in early 2027

Sencilia is working with specialist neonatal intensive care units on pre-clinical and clinical research. The next step is a clinical trial at Erasmus MC in Rotterdam, expected in the first quarter of 2027. If development and approval proceed according to plan, Sencilia expects to bring the first products featuring the sensor to market from 2028 onwards.

More information

• Sencilia
• RUG Ventures
• Future Tech Ventures