ROCHESTER, N.Y, Dec. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- VirtualScopics, Inc. , announced today that the company has co-authored two studies that were be presented at the Osteoarthritis Research Society International (ORSI) meeting in Boston on December 8 - 11. The studies describe magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to enable the ability to more accurately assess osteoarthritis (OA) disease progression.
“OA and other forms of arthritis affect more than 20% of the population in the United States, and VirtualScopics has an ongoing research effort to improve the process by which drugs are developed to treat this debilitating disease,” said Bob Klimasewski, president and CEO of VirtualScopics. “These papers show that improved imaging techniques can detect OA sooner than using existing imaging techniques.”
The studies were be presented by Saara Totterman, M.D., Ph.D., chief medical officer; Jose Tamez-Pena, PhD., chief technical officer; and Monica Barbu-McInnis, imaging scientist.
The first presentation, entitled, “Cartilage Quantification: Comparison between 3T Double-Echo Steady State (DESS) and 3T Fast Low Angle Shot (FLASH) Sequences,” describes results from a study that was conducted with half normal patients and half with mild to moderate osteoarthritis. This work presents the results of the National Institute of Health’s Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI) pilot study aimed to confirm the DESS sequence as a valid MRI sequence for doing cartilage quantification. The study concludes that morphological cartilage quantification of the tibia and central femur cartilage from the MRI DESS sequences is accurate and reproducible. The improved image contrast provides better and earlier detection of OA changes, and provides more sensitive detection of image-based biomarkers in OA for drug development.
The second presentation, entitled, “Cross Validation of Fused Spoiled Gradient Echo -- Gradient Echo (SPGR-GRE) T2* MRI at 1.5T and 3.0T for Morphological Cartilage Analysis,” describes results from a study that was conducted on 30 female patients with mild to moderate osteoarthritis, and evaluated the cartilage quantification differences between the 1.5T and 3.0T magnets. The study demonstrates that cartilage quantification with VirtualScopics’ method, which uses fused multispectral MRI image data is equivalent to the quantification using the FLASH sequences. The fused data set offered higher contrast between the cartilage and soft tissue such as the meniscus and the fluid. For subjects, this opens the opportunity for more accurate assessment of their OA stage.
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, tracy@bagatelleblack.com
Web site: http://www.virtualscopics.com/
