A Diagnostics & Imaging Week

Biomoda (Albuquerque, New Mexico), a maker of cancer diagnostics, reported an agreement with Medical Acoustics (Buffalo, New York) to collect lung sputum samples in an upcoming clinical study that will use Biomoda’s technology for detection of early lung cancer.

Biomoda says that its non-invasive screening technology identifies cancerous or aberrant cells extracted from samples of lung sputum. Cancerous cells glow red under fluorescent light and can be detected under a microscope. Current diagnostic methods for lung cancer often detect the disease only at more advanced stages.

Medical Acoustics makes the Lung Flute, a minimally invasive, flute-shaped device that uses low frequency sound waves to help patients with the natural mucus clearing system.

The Lung Flute will be used during a clinical program administered by New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in partnership with the New Mexico Department of Veterans Services (DVS). Biomoda will conduct the first year of the $350,000 clinical program, while New Mexico Tech and DVS will oversee the program and provide treatment to veterans testing positive for lung cancer.

When a patient exhales through the mouthpiece of the Lung Flute, the exhalation generates sound waves that vibrate cilia and the airways, causing deep lung secretions to thin and be expelled by coughing. FDA-cleared, the technology produces sputum samples without the need for saline induction.

In other agreements:

• Nonlinear Dynamics (Newcastle Upon Tyne, England), a developer of analysis solutions for proteomics, biomarker discovery and clinical diagnostics, reported it has signed an agreement with UVP (Upland, California). The agreement covers the promotion and supply of Nonlinear’s SameSpots analysis software through UVP’s direct sales force and worldwide distributor network.

The agreement follows the recent release of the BioSpectrum 800 imaging system from UVP which is an alternative to slower 2D laser scanner systems. It has been developed specifically to support the image capture requirements of 2D gel electrophoresis and Difference Gel Electrophoresis applications with a high resolution 8.3 mega pixel image capture capability.

• Waters (Milford, Massachusetts) and Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC, Nashville) reported collaborative research efforts using Waters Maldi Synapt High Definition MS System for enhanced tissue imaging capabilities for oncology research within the university’s Mass Spectrometry Research Center.

Researchers at the VUMC are focused on novel mass spectrometry approaches to identify and visualize protein expression changes in cells as they transition from a healthy state through various stages of cancer.

“The goal of tissue imaging is to provide a window into the changes in the cellular proteome in disease,” said Richard Caprioli, director of Mass Spectrometry Research Center at VUMC. “We look forward to evaluating the use of ion mobility for enhanced Maldi imaging combined with high resolution, high sensitivity, orthogonal time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Ultimately, we hope that enhanced tissue imaging techniques will provide data sets to be mined for diagnostic and prognostic information related to the various stages of cancer.”

• ProCure Treatment Centers (Bloomington, Indiana) and the Roberts Proton Therapy Center at the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia) reported an agreement to provide advanced training programs and accredit medical professionals in proton therapy — an alternative to conventional radiation therapy.

The agreement focuses on expanding research on the technology to be used for the delivery of proton therapy and developing new protocols using protons to treat a wider range of cancers.

Protons are used primarily to treat about a dozen diagnoses, including base-of-skull tumors, ocular melanoma, sinus tumors, pediatric cancers and prostate cancer. As more centers are developed and the capacity for patients increases, the Roberts Proton Therapy Center and ProCure will establish clinical studies to evaluate the use of protons in areas such as proton therapy in combination with chemotherapy and the improved results obtained from increasing the dose delivered to the tumor.

ProCure’s network of proton therapy centers will increase the number of patients that can potentially be enrolled in studies. The center will provide oversight, establish data collection procedures, analyze data and work through any necessary regulatory process.

• Zotec Partners, (Indianapolis) a solutions firm providing medical billing services and licensed software to hospital-based physician specialty practices across the U.S., is reporting that Utah Imaging Associates (UIA; West Valley, Utah) has selected them as their exclusive partner for their outsourced accounts receivable management. In addition, UIA will also utilize Zotec Partners’ Radiology Information Systems (RIS) software solution. UIA is a group of board certified radiologists delivering diagnostic and interventional imaging services along the Wasatch Front in the north-central part of the state of Utah.

UIA has numerous hospital and outpatient imaging facilities throughout the Wasatch Front. Their 29 radiologists have subspecialty fellowship training in neuroradiology, musculoskeletal radiology, women’s imaging/mammography, interventional radiology, cross sectional/body imaging, nuclear medicine/PET, magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasonography.