Australian medical technology company LBT Innovations Limited (ASX:LBT) has entered a collaboration agreement with Central Adelaide Local Health Network (CALHN) Vascular and Endovascular Services, to use LBT's novel WoundVue™ prototype device in the clinical trial, "Predicting outcomes in patients with diabetic foot ulcers and effectiveness of interventions to improve outcomes".
WoundVue™ is a hand held portable device that takes 2D and 3D images of chronic wounds to objectively monitor wound healing. The technology behind WoundVue™ originates from the principles behind LBT's FDA Cleared APAS® platform, where the core machine learning algorithms have been adapted to interpret tissue types and automatically provide surface area, volume and depth measurements.
Vascular surgeon Professor Rob Fitridge, Head of Vascular Surgery at CALHN and Lyell McEwin Hospital, and Professor of Vascular Surgery at the University of Adelaide, says, "Using WoundVue™ in this trial will provide us with reliable and objective data that will feed into our predictive model for amputations resulting from diabetic foot ulcers. Accurate and reproducible measurements are required for any clinical decision support system, especially in the context of this trial where these data will be used to predict the likelihood of surgical intervention. We are enthusiastic about working closely with LBT in this trial and believe there is a real clinical unmet need that the WoundVue™ device can address."
Similar to the approach taken with APAS®, LBT is developing WoundVue™ with a clinical focus, meaning the context of development is within the global regulatory guidelines of a medical device. This is an important differentiator to off-the-shelf, commercial apps that are not regulated and don't go through such a level of rigour and verification.
LBT CEO and Managing Director Brent Barnes says, "This collaboration is the logical next step having recently completed the proof-of-principle work developing our core algorithms in automatic tissue identification and delivering a prototype device. Development of validated medical devices in a regulated environment takes time. We are excited to collaborate with Professor Fitridge and his team to have the WoundVue™ prototype device being used in a clinical setting that will allow for further development of our core technology."
More than 50 million people globally are affected by chronic wounds with many being treated by multiple care practitioners. The use of manual and subjective tools to monitor the healing of degradation of wounds often leads to inconsistent therapy for patients. A device such as WoundVue™ will significantly reduce assessment time and assist in improving patient outcomes by having an accurate, frequent and reproducible assessment of chronic wounds.
About LBT Innovations
LBT Innovations (LBT) improves patient outcomes by making healthcare more efficient. Based in Adelaide, South Australia, the Company has two world class-leading products in microbiology automation: MicroStreak®, which provides automated culture plate streaking and Automated Plate Assessment System (APAS®). Based on LBT's intelligent imaging and interpretative software, US FDA-cleared APAS® automates imaging, analysis and interpretation of culture plates following incubation. LBT has entered into a joint venture Clever Culture Systems AG (CCS) with Hettich Holding Beteiligungs- und Verwaltungs-GmbH to commercialise APAS® products. LBT's third product WoundVue® is in early development; this is a proposed automated solution to assist in the management of chronic wounds.
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