Fairway, Kan.-based Mid-America Angels (MAA) investment network announced a $287,000 investment in Voxello, an Iowa-based medical device company.

The company’s primary product, the noddle, is a pioneering solution that detects voluntary gestures in hospitalized patients who would otherwise be unable to communicate. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given 510(k) clearance of the noddle.

“Effective communication between patient and provider is critical to the delivery of safe, high-quality health care. Voxello is leading the way in assisting severely impaired patients to express their needs and wishes to caregivers. Mid-America Angels is excited to be coming aboard as an engaged partner,” said Rick Vaughn, managing director of Mid-America Angels.

The noddle gives patients the ability to access the nurse call and speech generation with any voluntary gesture they can make, such as a tongue click, eye blink, or small movement. Phase I and II clinical trials confirmed that the noddle positively impacted patient satisfaction with statistical significance.

Voxello represents MAA’s second deal of 2017. The network has already injected more than $400,000 of funding into regional early-stage companies this year. It ended 2016 with a record 15 deals, and injected $3.6 million into the local early-stage community.