BOTHELL, Wash., May 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Verathon Inc. (formerly Diagnostic Ultrasound Corp.) today announced the winners of the first annual Verathon Technology Challenge; this year in the field of Urology.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20061011/SFW044LOGO)
Subbarao V. Yalla, M.D. and Maryrose Sullivan, Ph.D., both from the VA Boston Healthcare System and Harvard University are to receive the Verathon(R) Technology Challenge Award, along with a check for $10,000 for their paper entitled "Non-invasive Objective Assessment of Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction: Differentiation of Overactive Bladder and Bladder Outlet Obstruction." The award ceremony will take place at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association (AUA) in Anaheim, California, on Sunday May 20th.
In January of this year Verathon(R) offered $10,000 for the most practical and scientifically valid protocol to study the relationship of bladder wall mass and OAB (overactive bladder) or BPH (benign prostatic hypertrophy) in men. The goal was to determine how bladder wall mass (also known as UEBW or ultrasound-estimated bladder weight) measurements could best be utilized in clinical practice.
Abstracts, due May 1, 2007, needed to present a protocol and explain how that protocol would a) definitively refine the diagnostic impact of UEBW; and b) effectively demonstrate the clinical significance of the correlation between UEBW and bladder outlet obstruction (BOO), and how it would be implemented in a clinical trial.
The clinical significance of bladder wall mass in BOO and OAB has been noted, but to date it has not been well defined. Measurement of bladder wall mass (UEBW) has the potential to provide physicians with useful information for determining patient care plans.
Verathon(R) developed an innovative, handheld ultrasound device, the BladderScan(R) BVM 6500 that measures both bladder volume and bladder wall mass (UEBW) noninvasively. The BVM 6500 was designed to assist in diagnosis of bladder hypertrophy secondary to obstruction, predicated on a correlation between UEBW and bladder outlet obstruction (BOO). The goal of the challenge was to maximize the clinical utility and significance of the BladderScan(R) BVM 6500 as a diagnostic and treatment tool.
"We received some excellent abstracts from North America, Europe and Asia," said Gerald McMorrow, CEO, Founder and Chairman of the Board of Verathon(R). "We choose Yalla & Sullivan's study because we liked that they are looking to address the root-cause of OAB through the combination of UEBW and other noninvasive measures as the outcome of the study; by using objective factors establishing the utility of UEBW."
McMorrow continued, "Their study proposal seems to result in the most pragmatic guide for diagnosis of either DO (detrusor overactivity) or BOO that could be performed by any frontline care provider (be it a Primary Care Physician or Urologist) and thereby lead to potentially improved treatment for the patient."
"We're delighted to have won the Verathon Technology Challenge," stated Dr. Subbarao Yalla, Professor of Surgery (Urology) at Harvard Medical School and practicing Urologist at VA Boston Healthcare System, an affiliate of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
"Dr. Sullivan and I have focused our careers on helping veterans who are afflicted with varied types of voiding dysfunction," stated Dr. Yalla. "While we teach and also supervise Urology residents, we have concentrated our efforts on research of lower urinary tract physiology. We're ready to begin this clinical study to learn more about how bladder wall mass measurements can assist in the diagnosis of overactive bladder and bladder outlet obstruction."
The Verathon(R) Technology challenge was open to anyone and international entries were permitted. The award ceremony at the AUA in Anaheim, will take place on Sunday May 20th at 12:15 pm at the Verathon(R) booth (#540).
About Dr. Yalla and Dr. Sullivan:
Dr, Subbarao V. Yalla was born in India and graduated from Andhra University with MB;BS and Master of Surgery degrees. He completed his Fellowship at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with his research focus on upper urinary tract physiology. He later went through the Residency Program in Urology at the Graduate Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Since 1974, Dr. Yalla has been working at the VA Boston Healthcare system, an affiliate of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He served as the Chief of Urology from 1976 through 2005. Currently, he is Professor of Surgery (Urology) at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Yalla has published numerous scientific articles and several book chapters. He is a reviewer for many national and international journals, has served on several national and international committees, and has been honored with several awards.
Maryrose Sullivan, Ph.D., received her B.A. in Biology, and her M.E. and Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Virginia. She took her postdoctoral training in Neurology/Urodynamics of the Lower Urinary Tract at the VA Boston Healthcare System, and has continued to collaborate with Dr. Yalla over the past 16 years on research related to lower urinary tract dysfunction. She is currently an Assistant Professor in Surgery at the Harvard Medical School and a Research Associate, Research Service, at the VA Boston Healthcare System.
About Verathon Inc.
Verathon(R), formerly Diagnostic Ultrasound Corp., designs and manufactures reliable, state-of-the-art medical devices and services that offer a meaningful improvement in patient care to the health care community. The company's noninvasive BladderScan(R) instrument is the standard of care for bladder volume measurement. The brand is found in over 60 countries in Urology and Primary Care practices, as well as Acute and Extended Care facilities. With the January 2006 acquisition of Saturn Biomedical Systems in Vancouver, Canada, Verathon(R) entered Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Emergency markets with the GlideScope(R) video laryngoscope (GVL(R)) brand. Verathon(R) is headquartered in Bothell, Washington and has approximately 270 employees worldwide. For more information, please visit http://www.verathon.com.
Media Contact: Jane Mueller, VP of Marketing, Verathon Medical Inc., 425.867-1348, Ext. 6060. Also: Carol Klimas, OffMadisonAve, 480.505-4500. Alternate Contacts: Joyce Chee, Executive Assistant -- Marketing, 425.867.1348 Ext. 6064; Jessica McNerney, Executive Assistant to Gerald McMorrow, Verathon Inc., 425.867.1348, Ext. 1448.
Copyright 2007, Verathon Inc. BladderScan(R), GlideScope(R), GVL(R), Verathon(R), and Verathon Medical(R) are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Verathon Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. All rights reserved.
Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20061011/SFW044LOGOAP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.orgPRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.comVerathon Inc.CONTACT: media, Jane Mueller, VP of Marketing of Verathon Medical Inc.,+1-425-867-1348, ext. 6060; or Carol Klimas of OffMadisonAve,+1-480-505-4500, for Verathon Inc.; or alternate contacts, Joyce Chee,Executive Assistant -- Marketing, +1-425-867-1348, ext. 6064, or JessicaMcNerney, Executive Assistant to Gerald McMorrow, +1-425-867-1348, ext.1448, both of Verathon Inc.
Web site: http://www.verathon.com/
