Camras Vision Inc., a Triangle-based ophthalmic medical device company, has raised over $3 million in a private stock offering, reports Emily Brice for North Carolina Business News Wire.

The funding was disclosed in a filing Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Camras says it aims to raise $7 million.

The funding had been expected after writer NC Biotech and WRAL TechWire contributor Barry Teater reported last week that the company would soon disclose a round of funding. Camras won a tech award at the Southeast BIO Conference in Pinehurst.

Camras has developed a patented shunt that, when implanted in the eye, relieves intraocular pressure by draining fluid. Elevated pressure in the eye can damage the optic nerve, which transmits images to the brain, causing permanent vision loss if not treated.

The company has received three loans totaling $824,000 from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center to develop and test the device. The first award, a $74,226 Small Business Research Loan in May 2014, “was a lifeline,” said Ray Krauss, the company’s chief executive officer.

“Without that money, the company would not exist,” he added. “We were operating on vapors.”

The two subsequent loans totaling $750,000 “have allowed us to accelerate our efforts.”

The company filed the Form D on Nov. 28 and declined to disclose what it intended to do with the funds. The total worth of shares sold was $3,003,391. The company has nearly $4 million worth of shares remaining.

Camras Vision created the Camras device to avoid complications following glaucoma surgery and will provide ophthalmologists with the first tool that can stop the progression of glaucoma. The device can successfully drain aqueous humor externally, avoiding the scarring that is associated with all other incisional/shunt surgeries.

Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide, affecting 4 million Americans and around 80 million persons worldwide by 2020.

The company is led by Krauss and President Roberto Alfaro. Krauss has over 30 years of executive experience in the medical device industry as he led operations for Summit Technology to bring PRK/LASIK to the market. Alfaro previously worked at Deloitte.