News
Project news, updates, and announcements.
PRESS RELEASE: Approval for EUPHORIA’s pivotal clinical trial to assess colon inflammation in patients with inflammatory bowel disease
Munich, DE – Medical device company iThera Medical announces regulatory approval for a pivotal multi-center trial in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The EUPHORIA (Enhancing Ultrasound & Photoacoustics for Recognition of Intestinal Abnormalities) clinical trial will commence at four investigational sites across Germany and Italy using iThera Medical’s proprietary optoacoustic imaging technology, MSOT (multispectral optoacoustic tomography). A pilot study for the same indication using the same technology has shown that MSOT has the potential to non-invasively distinguish active cases from remission.
People with the chronic condition IBD undergo recurring phases of inflammation and remission of the gastrointestinal tract. In treatment management of IBD, it is necessary to closely monitor inflammatory activity of the bowel because therapy failure occurs in 30-50% of patients. Persistent inflammatory activity is related to higher complication rates, hospitalization, and cancer – all of which may be avoided by early adaptive treatment changes through improved disease monitoring.
In current care, colonoscopy is the gold standard in IBD diagnosis. However, this procedure poses a significant burden and complication risk on patients due to the need for bowel preparation and the invasiveness of the procedure. On the other hand, non-invasive procedures such as clinical examination and ultrasound imaging show high variability and diagnostic inaccuracy.
MSOT imaging is a new non-invasive diagnostic method based on the so-called photoacoustic effect – the conversion of light energy into sound waves. This technique combines pulsed laser excitation of tissue with ultrasound detection. Tissue – in this case the colon wall – absorbs the laser light […]
iThera Webinar: Imaging Lymphatic Disorders with Optoacoustic Tomography
Join the July 16th webinar hosted by EUPHORIA Co-ordinator iThera Medical, 3:00-4:00 BST.
Hear Dr Guido Giacalone, Head of the Department of Lymphatic Surgery at AZ Sint-Maarten (Mechelen, Belgium) outline his work in the field and the use of MSOT for preoperative mapping of lymphatic and blood vessels.
Particular topics covered include:
– An overview of the field of lymphatic surgery and the need for high resolution, fast and accurate imaging techniques to guide preoperative decision making
– How MSOT was used to identify lymphatic vessels and differentiate them from veins and arteries, including those at depth
– The outlook for MSOT to potentially aid clinicians in routine bedside detection of lymphatic vessels and utility in the lymphedema treatment process
This publication describes the details of the associated clinical trial: Guido Giacalone et al., Bedside 3D Visualization of Lymphatic Vessels with a Handheld Multispectral Optoacoustic Tomography Device. J Clin Med. 2020 Mar; 9(3): 815. https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/9/3/815.
Learn about MSOT’s optoacoustic phenomenon and its various applications. Register for the webinar here.
The EUPHORIA clinical study is officially registered!
The clinical trial “Enhancing Ultrasound & Photoacoustic for Recognition of Intestinal Abnormalities (EUPHORIA)” is officially registered with clinicaltrials.gov as of July 2nd, 2020. Read the details here. There, you will find the study design, patient cohort information, the outcome measures and the eligibility criteria.
The clinical investigation aims to generate clinical data to support the use of Multispectral Optoacoustic Tomography (MSOT) in clinical practice, its inclusion in diagnostic guidelines and to support its reimbursement, specifically to
- Further validate the application with respect to including ulcerative colitis patients
- Prepare a study protocol for large-scale clinical validation study in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
- Successfully execute the clinical validation study
iThera Webinar: Multi-scale Clinical Optoacoustic Skin Imaging
EUPHORIA Coordinator iThera Medical is hosting a webinar on June 25th. The topic: Multi-Scale Clinical Optoacoustic Skin Imaging.
Dr Dinish U. S and Dr Chris Ho of the Singapore Bioimaging Consortium (SBIC) will present on the use of Multispectral Optoacoustic Tomography (MSOT) to study morphological and functional changes associated with skin cancers in 2D and 3D. They will also describe the use of high-resolution Raster Scanning Optoacoustic Mesoscopy (RSOM) as an investigative tool for inflammatory skin conditions as well as the outlook for OAI to aid clinicians in the diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring of skin disease.
Date: June 25th, 2020
Time: 1:00 PM BST / 2:00 PM CEST / 8:00 AM EDT
Register here.
iThera Webinar: Optoacoustics and Optical: Complementary Modalities for Molecular Imaging
Both optoacoustic and optical imaging are biophotonic imaging technologies. While optoacoustic imaging yields information about light absorption from both endogenous tissue chromophores and optical contrast agents, optical imaging only provides information from extrinsically administered agents by means of light emission (fluorescence or bioluminescence). In terms of performance, optical imaging can serve as an easy-to-use screening tool with limited resolution and depth penetration, while optoacoustic imaging can probe biological questions in more detail and at greater depth. In this webinar, hear 10-minute presentations from three leading scientists who utilize both complementary imaging methods to study diseases on a molecular level, across three different applications:
- Cancer: Judith Weber PhD, University of Cambridge
- Inflammation: Alexa Hasenbach, University of Münster
- Diabetes: Dr Sheryl Roberts, Memorial Sloan Kettering
iThera Medical’s upcoming webinar on May 20, 2020, will take place at 3:00 PM BST/ 4:00 PM CEST / 10:00 AM EDT. Sign up here.
EUPHORIA joins EU-funded New Deal for live Twitter chat to explore the future of IBD treatment
Professor Dr Max Waldner of University Hospital Erlangen participated in a live Twitter chat on Monday, April 27, 2020.
The chat was hosted by Bruno Martin of ScienSeed, a partner on the New Deal, an EU Horizon 2020 funded project and one of EUPHORIA’s “Related Projects“. Joining Max and Bruno was Dr Azucena Salas, a researcher at IDIBAPS in Barcelona and principal investigator on the New Deal project, and Rachel Sawyer, a UK-based IBD patient advocate who manages the successful online Twitter stream, @bottomline_ibd.
The 50-minute chat focused on the state of the art and future prospects for IBD research, treatment and management. Watch it here!
Max remarked: “There is real value in communicating in a multi-disciplinary live forum such as this. It was a pleasure to be involved and to provide information about EUPHORIA with the public in this way. We will continue to share knowledge and build bridges with others working in research and patient advocates to improve IBD treatment.”
EUPHORIA explainer film is launched!
EUPHORIA coordinators at iThera Medical Gmbh have produced a short explainer film to showcase the emerging diagnostic imaging technology, Multispectral Optoacoustic Tomography or MSOT for monitoring and managing inflammatory bowel disease. Watch it here https://youtu.be/dk8ioq9oG6I
Since 2010, iThera Medical has been selling successfully worldwide into the pre-clinical research imaging market. iThera Medical has established a global distribution network for its pre-clinical systems. EUPHORIA is a key enabling step for iThera to enter the clinical imaging market.
iThera Medical has a highly experienced team of currently 34 employees with expertise covering all aspects of optoacoustic technology, e.g., laser physics and fiberoptic light guides, data acquisition electronics, ultrasound detector design, and general electronic, electrical and mechanical capabilities.
EUPHORIA has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 830965. The material presented and views expressed here are the responsibility of the author(s) only. The EU Commission takes no responsibility for any use made of the information set out.