Medical equipment manufacturing company 4DMedical Limited said it has made material progress in the development of its CT-based ventilation-perfusion product (CT:VQ), which quantifies and visualises regional ventilation and regional perfusion.
The clinical data was presented at the annual conference of the American Thoracic Society (ATS 2023) in Washington, DC on 22 May 2023, as revealed in an ASX announcement.
By offering vascular perfusion measurement without the need for injected radioactive tracers or contrast fluids, 4DMedical said the capacity marks a significant breakthrough in respiratory imaging.
In particular, the CT:VQ technology from 4DMedical extracts quantitative perfusion data and visualisations from non-contrast paired inspiratory-expiratory CT scans.
It accomplishes this by monitoring regional lung tissue mobility and analysing local density changes to calculate regional blood-mass change.
The ASX-listed company said hospitals can save significant capital costs associated with mitigating radiation risks associated with operating a Nuclear Medicine VQ scanner.
This can be done with specialised facilities for preparing, handling, and disposing of radioactive materials, by extracting VQ information from standard non-contrast CT images rather than Nuclear Medicine VQ images (which require radioactive contrast media).
In terms of the benefit to a larger audience, the CT:VQ technology makes it possible to quantify and show regional variations in perfusion and ventilation, enabling a thorough analysis of V/Q mismatch.
These scans can also be used to evaluate problems like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pulmonary hypertension, lung parenchymal diseases, and pulmonary vascular disorders.
Clinically, 4DMedical said these scans are largely utilised for identifying and treating pulmonary embolism.
Dr Andreas Fouras, CEO and founder of 4DMedical, said XV Technology has set the stage for a step-change in respiratory imaging.
“In a matter of years, XV Technology has set the scene for a step-change in respiratory imaging, measuring regional airflow with sensitivity far beyond the limitations of existing modalities that in some cases have been in use for over a century,” the CEO noted.
Dr Fouras also pointed out that 4DMedical remains on plan to submit CT:VQ to the FDA in the calendar year 2023.
Also, given the FDA’s typical turnaround time, Dr Fouras remarked that the company anticipates entering the US market in the middle of the calendar year 2024.
