VentriPoint Diagnostics (TSX VENTURE:VPT)(PINK SHEETS:VPTDF) announces the University of Chicago has secured a VentriPoint Medical System (VMS™) and has begun the clinical evaluation of the database for patients with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH).
The study will be led by four highly regarded cardiac specialists from the University of Chicago; Dr. Roberto Lang, former President of the American Society of Echocardiography and Director of the Echo Lab; Dr. Mardi Gomberg, expert clinician and researcher in the field of pulmonary hypertension; Dr. Amit Patel, Director of Cardiac MRI; and Dr. Benjamin Freed, Lead Cardiologist.
"I expect that an assessment of RV volume and function using the VMS™ will become part of the routine clinical ultrasound evaluation for patients at risk for PAH," stated Dr. Roberto Lang. "A simple way to detect and monitor PAH is gravely needed and this methodology will be extremely useful to quantify interventions (therapeutic and surgical) performed on the right ventricle," Dr. Lang added.
It is anticipated this first clinical study will take four to six weeks and will verify the accuracy of the system in patients known to have PAH. If successful, a multicenter clinical trial will be initiated to compare VMS™ with MRI as part of a submission to the FDA as part of a 510K submission.
Dr. George Adams, VentriPoint President and CEO stated, "The Company will leverage the success of the VentriPoint technology with congenital heart disease to address the needs of a significantly larger population of patients at risk for pulmonary hypertension."
The VMS™ is for investigational use only in the United States and approved for clinical use in Canada and Europe... [PDF] VentriPoint Diagnostics' Press Release -
