FDA Nods Functional Assessment Technology from Imbio: Boon for COPD

The University of Michigan had developed a new technology ‘Functional Assessment Technology’, which has recently got FDA’s (Food and Drug Administration) clearance. It will aid easier breathing for lung disease patients. This helps physicians use a CT scan data and map out functional information about the lung’s performance. Doctors will be able to make clearer diagnosis and customised individual treatment plans. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease also known as COPD affects more than 60 million people world over. The ‘Functional Assessment Technology’ called Lung Density Analysis (LDA) helps doctors to analyse a patient’s CT lung scan and determine how the disease is affecting the lungs getting filled with air and in pushing air out when exhaling. The company is also making efforts in developing technology to study images of cancerous tumors and this will guide in its treatment using variations of the same technology.

This technology was born from basic laboratory research at U-M and their co-founders act as scientific advisors to Imbio.

“It’s incredibly gratifying to see this concept grow from an idea in our lab, to a product ready for market,” says Ross. “We look forward to seeing how clinicians worldwide can use the LDA approach to benefit patients, and we’re grateful to all who have helped this concept reach this exciting point through many years of research and product development.” He credited the university’s research and technology transfer environment.

“This groundbreaking technique reveals functional information about the lung’s performance that is not available through other means and will allow us to tailor more individualized treatment for these patients,” says Kazerooni. “We are very excited to see the technique launched as a commercial product, after years of development in our image processing lab and extensive clinical research in thousands of COPD patients.”

Powerful computer techniques are used in the LDA approach. The CT scan takes a a full inhalation with another image of full exhalation. The software used allocates colors to each of the 3-D area that is called a voxel, and is done according to the differentiation in signal changes.

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Source-Medindia