Cambridge UK, 10 February 2017 – PneumaCare Ltd (www.pneumacare.com; Cambridge, UK) announces two key cornerstone clinical publications using its Thora-3DI™ imaging device. Taken together, the publications report in detail the first clinical data with the company’s technology on patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and in healthy subjects, and in patients who have had lung surgery, and underlines the clinical efficacy of the Company’s Thora-3DI™ product which allows patients of all age groups to be imaged non-invasively.
The peer-reviewed publications appear in two internationally recognised clinical journals and report breakthrough data using the company’s revolutionary non-contact, non-invasive imaging technology for respiratory assessment and monitoring. This employs a technique called Structured Light Plethysmography which the company has developed and integrated in its products, which are attracting international attention.
These milestone publications provide invaluable support for our expanding number of clinical users and for future publications which are in the pipeline. In 2016 alone, 11 clinical studies were presented at 3 international conferences on respiratory medicine over a range of diverse of areas including asthma, stroke, post pulmonary complications, and device validation studies. The publications demonstrate clinical efficacy of the Company’s products on appropriate patient populations. The publications are: “Measuring changes in chest wall motion after lung resection using structured light plethysmography: a feasibility study” authored by collaborators at Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham University Medical School, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Pneumacare Ltd. And “Tidal breathing patterns derived from structured light plethysmography in COPD patients compared with healthy subjects” authored by collaborators at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK and PneumaCare.
PneumaCare announced in 2016 that it received FDA approval for its lead Thora-3DI™ product, building on earlier European CE-mark approval. Achievement of regulatory approvals in these key global territories enables the company to sell its products globally and it is in discussions with key strategic partners worldwide to rollout its products, including a newly launched product for imaging pediatric patients including young infants.
Thora-3DI™ is a non-invasive, non-contact device that uses a patented technology known as structured light Plethysmography (SLP) to measure breathing through detection of movement of the chest and abdomen. The technology can be used to measure respiratory status in patients with a wide range of respiratory conditions, including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pneumonia and lung failure, and to assess patients before and after surgery. The SLP technology uses safe white light to project a grid pattern onto the chest, and record accurate 3D images of chest wall movements over time. The measurements are converted into visual and numerical outputs, which can help clinicians to make faster diagnoses and treatment decisions, and continually monitor patients in real time, without direct patient contact or intervention. The Thora-3DI™ is mobile, and can easily be moved between wards, or dismantled for transport and use in the community or in clinics.
Dr. Bill Mason, PneumaCare’s Chairman, stated, “We are delighted to that the important work of our clinical collaborators has been published in two key peer-reviewed journals. A number of clinical trials continue to demonstrate major benefits of respiratory assessment using Thora-3DI™, and other publications of trial data are in progress. We believe that these results will have significant implications for patient care in a range of clinical areas. The key advantages of our products include the ability to assess virtually all patients at virtually any age, young to old, conscious or unconscious, without any patient contact or intervention. This ability embodied in our products is virtually unprecedented”
About PneumaCare
PneumaCare Ltd is a privately owned, Cambridge, UK-based company that is leveraging its patented structured light Plethysmography (SLP) technology to develop and market innovative respiratory imaging systems. PneumaCare’s flagship Thora-3DI™ device is a respiratory imaging and assessment platform that enables clinicians to evaluate patients and their response to treatment in real time, and so gain a better understanding of respiratory status.
Representing a breakthrough in patient care, the Thora-3DI™ device achieved CE mark approval in Europe in 2012, and is being used in hospitals across non-US territories including the UK, France, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Middle East, Hong Kong, China and Malaysia. With a first FDA 510(k) clearance for the Thora-3DI™ granted in March 2016, PneumaCare is now working with its strategic partners to make the device available in the US and in other markets that recognise 510(k) authorisation.
The PneumaCare systems are highly enabling for clinicians working in a wide range of specialties, from pulmonary physicians treating ventilated patients, to rehabilitation, acute and chronic disease areas, pre- and post-surgery assessment, asthma, COPD, pneumonia. The company has also recently launched a version of Thora-3DI™, using identical SLP technology, for paediatric applications.
