Vanderbilt-Philips partnership; FDA clears brain MRI software; Visage scores $20M deal, plus more vendor news
Philips and Vanderbilt University Medical Center are partnering to reduce the Nashville-based health system’s carbon footprint, the two announced Monday.
The effort is centered around VUMC’s radiology department, where they’ll measure energy consumption stemming from imaging equipment. Vanderbilt and Amsterdam-based Philips said they plan to publish their findings and inspire others to focus on green initiatives.
“We consider climate care as healthcare,” radiologist Reed Omary, MD, professor and chair of radiology at VUMC, said in a May 22 announcement. “Taking steps to reduce the carbon footprint in healthcare isn’t just an opportunity, it’s also a responsibility. The future of radiology requires us to be cognizant, aware and proactive about addressing this issue, which directly affects the communities we live in and the patients we treat.”
Philips noted that the healthcare industry is responsible for 7.6% of CO2 emissions in the U.S., with radiology a key contributor. The imaging manufacturer said it plans to collect a range of information at Vanderbilt, covering equipment energy consumption, operational workflow efficiencies and other radiology-related data.
$20M deal in Wisconsin
Visage Imaging has inked a $20 million, seven-year partnership with Gundersen Health System, the two announced recently.
With the deal, the for-profit La Crosse, Wisconsin-based hospital system will adopt Visage’s enterprise imaging platform across its seven hospitals and other locations. The two are targeting a go-live date in the second half of 2023.
Visage Imaging is a wholly owned subsidiary of Australia-based Pro Medicus, which acquired the company in 2009. The organization labeled integrated delivery networks like Gundersen as its largest market segment in North America, having signed five such deals during the past 12 months.
$5M in funding to Leadoptik
Lung cancer-focused Leadoptik has raised $5 million in seed funding, the San Jose, California, startup announced Monday.
Investment firm MetaVC Partners led the way with additional contributions from SOSV, the Sony Innovation Fund and others. Leadoptik is developing a miniaturized imaging system allowing surgeons to view deep inside human lungs to diagnose cancer earlier.
Leaders said the system combines novel nanofabrication and optical metamaterials. Its technology has shrunk such components to the size of a “human hair,” allowing providers to view objects “50 times smaller” than current diagnostic equipment.
“We believe that such technology innovation has the potential to transform healthcare, particularly in areas such as cancer diagnostics, where there is a large unmet need for more accurate and timely screening and diagnosis,” Austin Noronha, managing director at Sony Ventures, said in a May 22 announcement. “The work that Leadoptik is doing in developing novel imaging technologies to address lung cancer detection is a perfect example of that.”
FDA clears MRI software
The U.S. FDA has cleared new brain MRI software from Seoul, South Korea, imaging AI vendor Neurophet.
The product allows providers to analyze brain atrophy observed in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Neurophet Aqua aids in image segmentation in “just five minutes,” regardless of the patient.
This marks the company’s second 510(k) clearance, after the FDA also greenlit Neurophet Scale PET in August. The MRI software also is CE-marked in Europe and has received similar approvals in Japan, Singapore and Korea, the company said in a May 18 announcement.
$3M to Hyperfine
Guilford, Connecticut, portable MRI developer Hyperfine has earned a $3 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The money marks an extension of its research to study the neurological effects of early childhood malnutrition in low- and middle-income countries. Hyperfine said it will use the funds to enhance its technology for use in these settings. Their work is focused on imaging the brains of newborns, infants and young children who face malnutrition, neglect or other forms of adversity that impact cognitive development.
“This investment will fill a critical role in providing an affordable, scalable method for directly evaluating the efficacy of interventions to improve infant and child health and neurodevelopment,” Khan Siddiqui, MD, chief medical officer at Hyperfine, said in a May 18 announcement.
Intelerad supports partnership
RadEqual, an organization supporting networking and mentorship in radiology, and the American Association for Women in Radiology recently signed a two-year partnership agreement.
Under the memorandum of understanding, both groups are committing to increased collaboration. They’ll work together in the “pursuit of creating educational initiatives for the broader radiology community.”
RadEqual co-founder Geraldine McGinty, MD, MBA, signed the agreement alongside AAWR President Amy Patel, MD, during the ACR Annual Meeting in D.C.
Montreal-based vendor Intelerad issued an announcement about the partnership and plans to support the two groups in an ongoing web-based educational series.
“Collaborating with RadEqual has expanded Intelerad’s mission to include supporting the female leaders in radiology who are the future of healthcare,” Chief Marketing Officer Marissa Carlson said in a statement. “The newly solidified partnership between RadEqual and the AAWR signals the importance being placed on connecting women with mentors in their field, and we’re proud to help foster those opportunities.”
Rapid fire
A few more radiology vendor news items of note, in brief:
- Nanox Imaging reported Q1 earnings results on Monday, which included net losses of $11.8 million on revenue of $2.4 million.
- Lumicell announced Monday that the U.S. FDA has accepted and granted priority review of its new drug application for Lumisight, a breast cancer imaging agent.
- Telefield Medical Imaging has raised $5 million in new funding to support the development of its 3D ultrasound technology to assess scoliosis.
- After closing its series B financing round, AI vendor Brainomix recently moved into a new headquarters, leaders announced May 15.
- And finally, medical imaging equipment provider Probo Medical recently completed its acquisition of National Ultrasound.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.