ReGelTec is a Baltimore-based startup developing a gel that can be injected into the nucleus of a lumbar (or lower back) disc for patients who had surgery related to degenerative disc disease. The spinal implants are designed to return spacing and height that is lost during surgery to the disc, when some of the nucleus is removed. Since the gel is injected through a needle, surgery is not required for the follow-up procedure. The company’s product initially lights up on a sonogram, then a larger mass is formed that will stay in place in the disc.

The company has determined that there is a large need for the product, as 500,000 lumbar disc procedures are performed on an annual basis and three million Americans have degenerative disc disease. In addition, there are many more who previously received the surgery. The fact that the follow-up does not require surgery could mean less time for patients out of work, and ReGelTec also thinks it will be easy to train doctors to perform.

Led by a management team that recently engineered the acquisition of Harpoon Medical by Edwards Lifesciences, ReGelTec has recently raised $2 million in seed funding.