Diagnostics & Imaging Week European Editorand D&IWs

While the power of information systems continually lifts medical devices to higher levels of medical practice, the same technology is being applied to the everyday medical or pseudo-medical needs of the mass market.

Two innovative devices have been introduced recently that offer the walk-in trade at pharmacies or personal care clinics access to diagnostic services for pedestrian problems such as the aesthetic care of skin, hair and well-being.

Biomedical Electronics (Artigues-près-Bordeaux, France) offers a line of devices for dermatologists to treat acne and psoriasis and for estheticians to remove unwanted body hair or to lighten beauty marks.

The company’s technologies for high-definition imaging and digital data analysis are also offered to the cosmetics industry for intriguing customers, assisting in a consultation on skin or hair, and then pairing profiles to products.

Based on the success of its devices in France, Spain and French-speaking Canada, Biomedical Electronics has doubled sales in two years to 16.4 million ($9 million) reported in 2006.

The company plans to introduce its personal well-being devices to the U.S. spa industry in November at the ISPA Conference in Kissimmee, Florida.

The stand-alone device resemble a hospital-quality apparatus, featuring integration of software, diagnostic tools such as digital image capture and analysis, and a practitioner interface for adjusting treatment.

Biomedical credits its strongest sales share to a patented pulse light used in different applications for treating skin conditions, permanent hair removal, vascular lesions and skin rejeuvenation through light-induced dermabrasion, the “refinishing” of the skin’s top layers through a method of controlled, surgery-like exposures rather than the traditional practice of mechanical sanding.

The proprietary technique of Check Before Pulse uses a camera to closely examine a treatment area and precisely calibrate the intensity of the light pulse. Treatment areas range from 0.5 cm square up to 5 cm square.

The light is emitted by a xenon lamp that is intensified and filtered with a power equivalent to several hundred times a camera flash. No ultraviolet light is emitted, though both the patient and the practitioner wear eye protection and patients cannot be tanned prior to treatment due to a risk of hyperpigmentation. Patients also are advised to avoid any direct exposure to the sun, to UV lights and not use tanning creams for 15 days before and after treatment.

For guided consultations to over-the-counter products at pharmacies, Cyberdeck (Ecully, France) this month reported the roll-out of a kiosk equipped with a camera and computer screen interface that proposes a personalized diagnostic session for customers.

Customers are guided through an online questionnaire that develops a profile. Appropriate products are then selected from the database of products for weight loss, skin care, well-being or cosmetics.

To date 60 kiosks have been installed — 40 in France and 20 in Spain.

Listed on the Euronext exchange in Paris, Cyberdeck reported sales in the first half of 2007 reached €2.1 million ($3 million) and said it held orders valued at €2.5 million ($3.5 million) for the second half, notably with orders for 100 kiosks.

Covidien in molecular imaging agreement

NewSouth Innovations, the technology transfer arm of the University of New South Wales (UNSW; Sydney, Australia), and Covidien Imaging Solutions (St. Louis) have reported the signing of a license agreement to develop a radio-labeled molecular imaging agent for evaluating the efficacy of cancer treatments.

The technology is seen as useful in assisting oncologists in determining the effectiveness of treatment and the necessity for other therapeutic measures.

UNSW is a leader in the field of adult cancer research with internationally recognized medical scientists. Covidien Imagingis a provider of diagnostic imaging products.

Under the exclusive, worldwide agreement, Covidien Imaging has product development and commercialization rights for the apoptosis technology, invented by Professor Philip Hogg, a co-director of the Lowy Cancer Research Center at UNSW. The family of small molecules developed by Hogg is designed to bind to cancer cells undergoing apoptosis, or the process of cell death, as a result of chemotherapy treatment.

“This discovery stems from more than 10 years of research focused on the design of molecular probes to study cellular processes,” said Hogg. “These molecules are uniquely designed to attach to proteins inside cells undergoing apoptosis driven by chemotherapy.”

According to data from the International Agency for Research on Cancerof the World Health Organization (Geneva, Switzerland), there are about 11 million new cases of cancer worldwide each year. Along with helping doctors to assess therapeutic responses non-invasively, the apoptosis technology would support the movement toward personalized or targeted therapies based on a patient’s specific needs, according to Covidien Imaging.

Clinical Data in Australian LQTS testing accord

Clinical Data (Newton, Massachusetts) reported that its PGxHealth division has entered into a non-exclusive, sub-license agreement with Australia’s Victorian Clinical Genetics Services (VCGS; Victoria) to provide genetic testing for familial long QT syndrome (LQTS).

The agreement with VCGS — a not-for-profit subsidiary of the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (Victoria), Australia’s largest children’s research institute — covers LQTS testing to individuals and families in Australia and New Zealand.

LQTS is an inherited disorder of the heart’s electrical system. It causes a sudden, unexpected, life-threatening type of ventricular tachycardia, and people who have LQTS are at risk for syncope and possibly sudden death, often at a young age.

John Schultz, senior VP of licensing and strategic development at PGxHealth, said, “Sudden arrhythmia death is a tragic occurrence. However, with today’s diagnostic tools and treatments, heart rhythm abnormalities are a manageable health condition. This test not only can aid in the diagnosis of LQTS and help determine whether family members are at risk but may also guide treatment options for those who have exhibited symptoms.”