Periodic Reporting for period 1 - piur tUS (A cost effective 3D tomographic ultrasound technology for vascular diagnostics)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2015-08-01 al 2015-10-31
piur imaging GmbH develops tomographic ultrasound solutions for the safe and cost-efficient image diagnostics of vascular diseases. piur’s expertise lies in medical devices, 3D imaging and image diagnostics. Each year cardiovascular disease (CVD) causes over four million deaths in Europe and 17.3m deaths globally. These numbers are expected to grow to over 23.6m by 2030. CVD accounts for 40% of deaths in the EU and costs the EU economy almost €196bn a year.
Ultrasound imaging systems are currently the primary choice for vascular diagnostics. However, due to low sensitivity in the lower limbs, a limited field of action and poor quantification accuracy, patients are often referred for secondary scanning procedures. These include computed tomography angiography, magnetic resonance angiography and catheter angiography for more detailed imaging. Such referrals delay treatment, expose the patient to potential health risks and pose higher costs to healthcare providers. This presents a need to improve the rapidity and safety of the diagnosis of vascular conditions in patients to enable rapid treatment of conditions such as peripheral artery disease. There is also a need for cost effective preventative screening and surveillance to enable early intervention, for example, for people at high risk of stroke.
To address this need, piur imaging has developed piur tUS. This is a 3D freehand tomographic ultrasound system capable of rapid, safe and accurate reconstructive 3D quantifiable vascular imaging. It extends existing 2D ultrasound systems owned by healthcare services for 3D imaging, and delivers capability comparable to the imaging currently produced by expensive CTa, MRa and catheter angiography for cardiovascular treatment planning and diagnosis. This system will therefore provide a low cost and reproducible imaging solution that will reduce the need for referrals within the vascular field to the more expensive 3D scanners and be an effective tool for preventative screening and early intervention for people with CVD.