MAUI Imaging, the medical imaging startup founded by David Specht and his late father Don Specht, has closed a $14 million Series D financing round led by Acertara Acoustic Laboratories, marking the most recent step in the company’s mission to transform ultrasound imaging. Building on more than $40 million raised to date - including a pivotal $4 million U.S. Department of Defense contract - MAUI is scaling its Computed Echo Tomography (CET) imaging platform for broader clinical deployment.

At its core, CET is a breakthrough: a portable ultrasound system capable of imaging through bone, gas, surgical implants, and fat - domains previously only accessible by CT or MRI. With over 160 patents and FDA 510(k) clearance behind its K3900 device, MAUI’s technology enables trauma teams, neurosurgeons, and emergency physicians to visualize internal anatomy with unprecedented clarity in real time.

Imaging What Others Can’t: A Game-Changing Scan in Every Emergency

Traditional ultrasounds are blocked by barriers inside the body - like the skull - or fail to capture volumetric data needed for fast trauma assessment. MAUI’s K3900 CE Technology provides a real-time imaging experience that’s more like a CT scan than a standard ultrasound, all while avoiding ionizing radiation. Early trials at institutions such as the University of Maryland Trauma Center have demonstrated its ability to image intracranial and spinal structures in seconds - delivering critical diagnosis where CT isn’t accessible or safe.

In austere environments - from naval vessels to battlefield triage centers - the K3900 becomes the difference between quick decisions and delayed outcomes. Data from early DoD testing shows this imaging system cut time-to-diagnosis significantly during mass casualty simulations, enabling minimally trained personnel to provide actionable medical insight in nearly real-time.

Turning Physics Into Product-Market Fit

MAUI Imaging’s trajectory demonstrates a rare pattern in deep-tech startups: solving an invisible obstacle by fusing domain expertise with cutting-edge instrumentation. Most imaging tools focus on marginal gains in pixel quality or AI overlays - but MAUI found a structural choke point: the inability to image through obstacles like bone or gas.

Their ultra-strategic move was to align product design with a fundamentally new physical capability, not just incremental tweaks. CET isn't just an upgrade - it’s a new modality. They didn’t build another ultrasound; they built what medicine requires where the rest of imaging fails. That clarity of mission allowed them to build credibility over decades: a multi-generational engineering vision translated into clinical readiness.

Founders should note: building defensibility means installing capabilities that replace entire workflows - not just improve them. When your product changes what’s possible rather than how it’s done, it becomes indispensable. MAUI didn't win evaluations through interface polish - they won through what clinicians could finally see.

From Stealth Mode to Strategic Scaling

Emerging from stealth in August 2024 with a Department of Defense contract would already be validation enough - but MAUI paired that momentum with a bold commercial strategy. The device is priced around $85,000, significantly lower than CT systems, and designed for deployment by providers with limited training. That accessibility, combined with strong clinical outcomes, drives adoption in trauma care settings where access to diagnostic tools is inconsistent.

This decentralized distribution model positions MAUI to go beyond hospitals - landing in ambulances, ships, rural clinics, and military med centers. As more data becomes available, the system is also enabling AI-based analytics and volumetric image interpretation that CT systems cannot replicate.

Scaling Up Without Losing Focus

With the Series D capital, MAUI Imaging plans to scale manufacturing of the K3900, onboard global distribution partners via Acertara, and invest in clinical research to expand approvals. The company is also hiring across product, regulatory, and field operations to support deployments in neurosurgery clinics, trauma centers, and military units.

Critically, MAUI is using its patent portfolio and clinical traction to create ecosystem value: volumetric image datasets helping power AI diagnostic tools, and standardization protocols for imaging in mass casualty scenarios.

The Specht Legacy: Engineering Meets Mission

David Specht and Don Specht’s work combines decades of experience in aerospace, sonar, and electrical engineering. Translating that intellectual heritage into medical imaging took time, but it was intentional. Their earliest prototypes - built in a Silicon Valley garage - evolved into a system ready for FDA clearance and national-level use.

This founder narrative matters. MAUI built trust not only through product performance, but through institutional patience and technical mastery. That depth of credibility attracts partnerships with military, hospital systems, and imaging labs that need investment-proof technology.

What’s Ahead for MAUI Imaging

The roadmap includes securing further FDA clearance for cranial and spinal imaging use cases, publishing larger clinical study results, and piloting in new global health environments where traditional imaging is limited or unavailable.

They’re also exploring distribution beyond hospitals - testing mobile versions of K3900 in emergency response units and rugged terrain use. The long-term vision: give any medical operator near-diagnostic capability without needing a hospital.