ROCHESTER, N.Y., Jan. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- VirtualScopics, Inc. , a leading developer of image-related biomarkers, today announced that its analysis tools for Dynamic Contrast Enhanced-Magnetic Resonance Imaging (DCE-MRI) revealed bone restoration in a pilot study with LAGeT Inc. and the Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation (MTF). In the future, VirtualScopics’ technology will enable clinicians to utilize a non- invasive method of quantifying the extent of restoration of bone through longitudinal clinical trials.
“This milestone study represents a year of work with LAGeT and MTF. We are pleased that our tools were instrumental in successfully demonstrating bone revascularization [restoration] over time,” said Bob Klimasewski, president and CEO of VirtualScopics. “Worldwide, VirtualScopics has the only regulatory compliant software tools that could have measured this positive study outcome, and we look forward to a larger clinical trial.”
In this study, a canine test subject received a bone allograft and was subsequently studied using DCE-MRI over three time-points following surgery. An allograft is a graft of tissue or an organ transplant between a donor and a recipient who are of the same species but genetically unlike. A bone allograft can potentially stimulate the body into restoring dead bone to life. VirtualScopics’ suite of proprietary software analysis tools demonstrated dramatic revascularization of the bone from the baseline imaging session to the first follow-up.
This pilot animal study allowed the research team to determine the imaging technique feasibility including subject positioning and image reconstruction in an area of bone healing where an implant is present. Due to the pilot’s success, a larger study is planned which involves functional in vivo imaging to evaluate the efficacy of a novel gene therapy to enhance allograft incorporation.
“VirtualScopics DCE-MRI analysis will be the primary outcome measurement in a larger LAGeT-MTF clinical trial to evaluate the ‘Revascularizing Allograft’,” said Dr. Edward Schwarz, president of LAGeT, Inc.
About LAGeT, Inc.
LAGeT, Inc. is a Rochester, NY-based, privately held biotechnology company. Founded in 2001, LAGeT is focused on the commercialization of the LAGT technology, a novel gene delivery device. The Company recently closed its first financing round, part of which is being used to fund the development of the LAGT prototype gene activation system.
About VirtualScopics, Inc.
VirtualScopics, Inc. is a provider of advanced medical image analysis services. The company evolved from research first carried out at the University of Rochester Medical Center and School of Engineering. VirtualScopics has created a suite of image analysis tools used in detecting and analyzing specific structures in volumetric medical images, as well as characterizing minute changes in structures over time, providing vital information to support clinical trials and diagnostic applications. The firm’s proprietary software algorithms can assemble hundreds of separate medical images taken during an MRI session into a single, three-dimensional model, bringing a new and previously unobtainable source of data to clinical researchers. For more information about VirtualScopics, visit http://www.virtualscopics.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
The statements contained in this press release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created thereby. Forward-looking statements deal with the Company’s current plans, intentions, beliefs and expectations. Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed from time to time in reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
CONTACT: Tracy Bagatelle-Black Bagatelle-Black Public Relations 661/263-1842 tracy@bagatelleblack.com
VirtualScopics, Inc.
CONTACT: Tracy Bagatelle-Black of Bagatelle-Black Public Relations,+1-661-263-1842, or tracy@bagatelleblack.com
Web site: http://www.virtualscopics.com/
