A Diagnostics & Imaging Week

Toshiba Medical Systems (Tokyo) and TomTec Imaging Systems (Munich, Germany) reported an agreement to deliver new tools for assessing cardiac 4-D data and a collaboration to make them more widely available.

With the recent introduction of Toshiba’s Artida Cardiac 4D Ultrasound System, a variety of new 4-D capabilities were released. TomTec diagnostic workstations will be able to read Artida’s data providing increased customer options for image review and a host of new advanced applications.

“We designed Artida to be the first of a new generation of the cardiac 4-D ultrasound systems.” said Hiroyuki Tsujino, general manager, Ultrasound Systems Division at Toshiba. “This is why we developed the smallest and lightest 4-D transducers together with the SmartCore technology to generate precise 4-D images quickly.”

TomTec and Toshiba said their new systems are at the forefront of a new push for clinical applications for cardiac 4-D ultrasound. This push is making offline review and analysis of 4-D data increasingly important. “It may be surprising to many users that there is no standard for 4-D ultrasound data formats,” they said. “This means that while regular ultrasound images are compatible across a very wide range of review stations, 4-D data is not.”

TomTec will expand its workstation products compatibility to analyze Artida 2-D, 3-D and 4-D ultrasound data. Bernhard Mumm, president and CTO, said, “By focusing on clinical workflow we can give our customers fast and reproducible results in the field of cardiac 4-D quantification for a variety of clinical applications such as global left ventricular function quantification, regional LV dyssynchrony measurement, mitral valve assessment as a surgical planning tools as well as right ventricular functional assessment.”

In other agreements:

• Ark Diagnostics (Sunnyvale, California) and Roche Diagnostics (Mannheim, Germany) have signed a letter of intent to negotiate a collaboration agreement that would grant Roche distribution and commercialization rights for Ark’s anti-HIV drug monitoring products.

Johnny Valdez, president of Ark Diagnostics, said, “Roche will be immediately selling and distributing our products worldwide.”

Ark’s products are immunoassay reagents for certain classes of anti-HIV drugs such as protease inhibitors and nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors used to suppress viral replication. The immunoassay reagents are compatible with most automated clinical chemistry analyzers and measure a patient’s blood level of anti-HIV drug, helping doctors to determine if adequate drug exposure has been achieved at a given dose.

“Monitoring tests for viral load and cell markers have contributed significantly to improving the lives of those infected with HIV; the added benefit of measuring drug level is thought to enhance therapy by assuring patients achieve the effective circulating concentration of drug with the dosage used,” Valdez said.

• Beckman Coulter (Fullerton California) reported that it is the industrial partner in a two-year research project to be carried out at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia and Laboraf Diagnostica e Ricerca San Raffaele SpA (Milan, Italy). The collaborative research will seek to discover genetic signatures for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and obesity-related hypertension. Beckman Coulter will have exclusive license to commercial application of the results, which will be used to develop content for the company’s molecular diagnostics platform.

“Molecular Diagnostics will be a key growth area for Beckman Coulter in the coming years. This collaboration provides an unparalleled opportunity to obtain additional content for our platform,” said Bruce Wallace, VP of Beckman Coulter’s Molecular Diagnostics Business Center. “Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death worldwide and obesity is an important determinant. The discovery of genetic factors for both CVD and obesity may lead to development of readily-accessible diagnostic tests that enable more rapid assessment, earlier treatment and preventive measures. Our deep understanding of diagnostics gives us the unique ability to convert research tools and platforms into in vitro diagnostic tests used to deliver a complete, sample-to-result solution.”

Researchers at Thomas Jefferson University and Laboraf Diagnostica e Ricerca San Raffaele SpA will share samples and results during the project. Beckman Coulter will work with the partners to develop research protocols and assays. Products and platforms used in the research studies include Biomek FXP Laboratory Automation Workstations and GenomeLab SNPStream Genotyping Systems.

“The possibility of discovering the genes that are associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease is very exciting,” said Professor Ferrari. “If the results can ultimately be used to develop molecular diagnostic tests, it will be a breakthrough of major importance.”

Beckman Coulter develops products that simplify, automate and innovate complex biomedical tests.

• Quidel (San Diego, California), a provider of rapid point-of-care diagnostic tests, reported the launch of a pilot program with Hoffmann-La Roche (Roche, Nutley, New Jersey) in the U.S. to develop a comprehensive approach to managing influenza.

The QuickVue Influenza A+B test and Tamiflu, an oral antiviral flu medication, will be used together in select U.S. markets.

The program was scheduled to begin this month.

“Our focus has always been to educate physicians on the signs and symptoms of influenza. The rapid test enables physicians to more accurately diagnose the infected patient, allowing for appropriate decisions about treatment and protection against the flu,” said Michael McGuire, vice president infectious diseases at Roche. “The physician will also be able to recommend prophylaxis to other family members to help protect them from getting the flu. Working with Quidel should help physicians make improved decisions about influenza for their patients and practice.”

Caren Mason, president/CEO of Quidel, said, “The agreement with Roche should allow us to demonstrate what physicians and researchers have been reporting globally, that a rapid test helps to support the appropriate utilization of antivirals, resulting in improved patient care.”