Roundtable Discussion; The Future of Mineral Sands. Watch the video here.
Thanks BB - I would recommend a look at Renalytix 'RENX' & see if you can justify the disparity in their value and IQAI's.
I don't see any reason IQAI could not achieve a similar Mcap, they already have the products (& are developing more) - its just a matter of time...
4. New releases for IB Clinic and StoneChecker are planned throughout 2021. As more sites adopt IB Clinic's automated processing, enhancing IB Clinic's ability to account for various artifacts, such as head motion and inherent MR system variability, will further improve the robustness of the processing and maintain the high-quality output the Company's users have grown to expect and appreciate. The Company continues to invest in its kidney stone analysis software, StoneChecker, with plans to gain traction in the market this year.
5. Sales of products and especially those optimised for treating primary brain tumours will continue to be a priority in 2021. The Company's fully automated and quantitative processing options available in IB Clinic continue to gain interest at leading cancer centres. There are currently six US-based sites that are arranging for trials of IB Clinic with additional sites in Europe evaluating IB software via one of the Company's channel partners. Several key factors are driving increased interest. IB Clinic is the only platform that automatically generates truly quantitative parameter maps. It is the only commercially available perfusion platform whose output has been rigorously compared to tissue biopsy samples. It exactly matches the national recommended consensus standard in acquisition and post-processing of datasets, providing an ideal pathway for standardising on a proven brain tumour imaging protocol. It enables accurate longitudinal comparison regardless of scanner vendor, field strength, patient, or timepoint. Existing clients have provided examples how the Company software has provided an immediate impact to clinical decision making and has provided rich information that optimises patient care.
6. Auto-segmentation will fully automate the Company's "fractional tumour burden" ("FTB") mapping process. Eliminating this manual step will also enable FTBs to be offered via IB Clinic and render the full complement of IB software as a platform independent quantitative imaging solution. The technology is being implemented into a beta workflow for assessment by luminary sites including the Mayo Clinic, Keck Medical Center at USC, the Medical College of Wisconsin ("MCW"), and others. This beta evaluation is expected to conclude in Q1 and, if the feedback dictates, further refinements will be made to the technology.
7. The Company is fulfilling the work outlined in its two funded grants collaborating with MCW and the Barrow Neurological Institute ("BNI"). Both grants are "industrial-academic partnerships", aimed at commercialising technologies and incorporating them into routine clinical use, and each grant is entering into the second year of its five-year term. The grant in collaboration with MCW is the second such award as part of the Quantitative Imaging Network ("QIN"). The QIN is an initiative sponsored by the US National Cancer Institute ("NCI") promoting research, development, and clinical validation..
In 2020, IQ-AI secured major clients and partners, introduced new products, and accelerated the development of new technologies. Today the Company is pleased to provide an update and an outline of our major plans for 2021. IQ-AI's development pipeline is extensive and growing.
Trevor Brown, CEO commented: "We are operating at a time of rapid innovation where the development and clinical translation of medical AI solutions will provide a paradigm shift in routine clinical practice, resulting in improved patient care. The Company is optimistic that substantial progress will be made in all these initiatives during 2021".
1. IB Trax™, an entirely new platform initially targeted to assist the assessment of metastatic brain tumours, is being developed in partnership with the Mayo Clinic. The core team, which includes Dr. Leland Hu, MD of the Mayo Clinic (Arizona, USA), has begun translating the desired workflow into software requirements and specifications. The focus is on providing a streamlined workflow to systematically identify, quantify, and organize volumetric analysis for metastatic brain lesions. The Board believes that the initial version of IB Trax will form the foundation for streamlining the assessment of other cancers and pathologies.
2. The "Gad Free" technology is about to embark on the next round of validation testing which includes subjecting the algorithm to a comprehensive and extensive testing protocol. To accomplish this, a large number of test datasets are being prepared to fully assess the robustness of the technology. Although challenging, the Board considers that this novel solution would be the first in the world and the Company is confident the appropriate technical team is in place to deliver. The patent application submitted in Q4 2018, is advancing through the US Patent and Trademark Office review process.
3. Interest continues to increase in the recent FDA-cleared and CE-marked LSN (Liver Surface Nodularity) platform. Prospective users are inquiring about LSN's ability to perform virtual biopsies to help assess chronic liver disease for an extremely large patient population. In addition, the sales and marketing teams of the Company's channel partners were trained on the functionality of the LSN platform. While trade shows and scientific meetings are still conducted virtually due to the pandemic, the Company will be launching a series of marketing campaigns in Q1 to help accelerate trials and adoption of LSN.
Whether a company can issue RNS is largely not their decision as that is determined by materiality in relation to the regulations. Some company achievements/news will be important steps forward but not RNS (able) & so nothing wrong in tweeting to keep investors informed. When the auto-segmentation is given approval/feedback from the KOL's then implemented will be when they issue an RNS.
Its not the only news we are waiting for here - more patience required.
Liver Nodularity (LSN)
IQ-AI today announces that the US Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") has granted 510(k) market clearance for the Liver Surface Nodularity ("LSN") software application. Earlier this year, IQ-AI's subsidiary, Imaging Biometrics, LLC ("IB"), entered into a business agreement with the owners of LSN, AI Metrics, LLC, which granted IB global rights to manufacture, market, and distribute the LSN software platform. Now that the FDA has granted market clearance, IB and AI Metrics will begin to actively market and sell LSN in the USA. CE mark for European distribution and commercialisation is expected later this quarter.
LSN presents a new way to use CT scans for virtual liver biopsy to help assess individuals with chronic liver disease ("CLD"). CLD is a serious condition that progresses through various stages including liver inflammation, early fibrosis, advanced fibrosis, and cirrhosis. In total, over 2 billion people worldwide have some form of CLD which requires frequent monitoring for proper staging and treatment. Currently, the best way to monitor liver deterioration due to CLD is by undergoing a liver biopsy. The problem with liver biopsies is that they can be quite painful to the patient and expensive. A single liver biopsy can cost between $2,000 and $3,000 per test and is associated with a risk of bleeding. Biopsy sampling is also prone to errors which may result in misdiagnosis.
LSN's proprietary algorithms process CT images of a patient's liver to assess the nodules along the liver surface. This low cost, low-risk, non-invasive procedure provides physicians with new information that may aid in the staging of CLD and has the potential to become the standard of care for a significant global market.
To come
GAD Free
Auto-segmentation
IB Trax
IB CAD
‘other’
Stonechecker
3/12/2020 RNS - IQ-AI today announces the release of StoneChecker (SC) application 20.12. This release encompasses workflow enhancements for retrieving computed tomography (CT) datasets as well as streamlined reporting of the application's output. IQ-AI is confident that this release of SC Software is now positioned for widespread clinical adoption.
IB Stroke
It provides users with the flexibility to process both MR and CT perfusion image sets, thus allowing use in any imaging environment. The IB Stroke output may be used by clinicians to help determine the usefulness of treating the patient with clot-busting drugs - drugs which can potentially save oxygen-starved brain tissue but bring with them a host of potential side-effects.
In the USA alone, approximately 800,000 people experience a stroke each year and stroke remains a leading cause of disability. Current annual stroke related costs are $46 billion and are projected to increase to $94 billion by 2035. By capitalizing on existing software capabilities and regulatory clearances of the IB Clinic® software suite, IB Stroke is available in both Europe (CE Marked) and the US (FDA-cleared) markets. IQ-AI intends to serve this sizable market through annual subscriptions to IB Stroke.
One of the unique features of Imaging Biometrics' (IB) portfolio of brain focused products is their ability to accurately map and quantify blood flow in the brain. IB already offers a unique biopsy-validated diagnostic imaging platform to neuroradiologists for assessing brain tumors and monitoring their response to treatment. IB also offers all the metrics found to be most valuable for the evaluation of stroke and response to therapies. For example, IB's proven perfusion and diffusion maps will be used to generate the perfusion-diffusion mismatch (DPM) which typically represents ischemic penumbra, or the area of viable tissue at risk. IB will leverage its proven ability of efficiently translating novel developments into routine clinical use, to create an automated and streamlined processing application for clinician's use.
IB Neuro - the Recognised National Standard in MRI DSC
IB the recognised leader in quantitative imaging analysis for brain tumor diagnosis and treatment, today announced that the MRI DSC perfusion technology, first made commercially available in IB Neuro™, earned recognition as the national standard for use in high-grade brain tumors. This recognition was the outcome of the DSC-MRI Standardisation Subcommittee of the Jumpstarting Brain Tumor Drug Development Coalition. The Committee's findings, published in Neuro Oncology (Consensus Recommendations for a DSC MRI Protocol), provide evidence-based best practices for routine clinical use from both an MR acquisition and post-processing perspective. DSC, which stands for dynamic susceptibility contrast, is the most common perfusion MRI technology used for the evaluation of brain tumors.
Being the acknowledged standard in dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC) imaging is without doubt a notable milestone and this national consensus recommendation is long overdue. MR DSC is the most common perfusion technology used for the evaluation of brain tumours, but most sites have yet to adopt or have not yet fully comprehended the value of having proven quantitative biomarkers available for brain tumour assessment. This may be due to decades of inconsistent and suboptimal ways of acquiring and/or post-processing DSC data. Or maybe it is because improperly implemented leakage correction algorithms were used in studies that led to mixed, inconsistent, or controversial publications that left the healthcare community questioning the robustness of DSC imaging. The lack of staffing and resources may have also impeded adoption. Whatever the circumstances were at the time, they now no longer apply.
Not all sales/uses of their products will have to be RNS - only when it is deemed a requirement by regulations & those are a bit of a mystery but will largely be determined by materiality.
Claire, the company are bound by strict regulations on what they can release so have to be careful . Plus the company's focus is not PR for AI , they (& their distributers) are promoting their products in a targeted way to those in the industry who are potential customers.
Besides, AI is now gaining huge traction and is being driven by its ability to reduce time and costs plus improve accuracy and patient care (not PR). This sort of tech is like a flywheel, as the uptake is gradual at first while it is evaluated before turning into widespread adoption as it becomes standard, but that wheel is now in motion for IB with Keck & Montgomery most recent & as stated in their latest RNS being evaluated by several other institutions in US and Europe. It will be the same for LSN being marketed now gaining 'increasing interest' & all developments to come with including Gad free which should be a game changing development in its own right.
IMO current SP is not important if you are invested here for what is to come. Patience is key, big things happening. DYOR
Don't confuse what is happening with the company and what is happening with shareholders or share price.
If you have researched then you should know there is a vast amount going on with the company and their various collaborations. IMO patience will be rewarded.
Just for clarity TB converted CLN's and interest into new ordinary shares therefore increasing the total number of shares in issue which he then sold to effectively maintain his same % holding - that's it. If you ask him he is able to confirm his % holding in the company & this would not be considered sensitive information. I am happy that no Tr1s will be forthcoming in respect of TB's holdings.
One in three MRI scans use contrast to improve the diagnostic accuracy of the scan. In the US alone, that equates to approximately 10 million scans per year of which 40% are neuro scans. While the associated cost savings of contrast agent material alone is substantial, the potential impact to routine clinical practice is also significant. Back in 2018 using conservative estimates the direct material expense alone of Gadolinium equated to roughly $1.2 billion a year in US alone.
If the tech is successful there seem no reasons why it wouldn’t quickly be adopted as a replacement to using expensive & potentially damaging contrast agents - if IB took 25% of the neuro scans market in the US alone the potential annual revenues are huge (1million X $ what you think they would charge) add to this their aim for this tech to be used across other imaging areas + the global market value they can tap into this product alone could transform the company.
Now calculate the potential revenues from LSN? & IB, IB Trax, IB CAD, SC + other (TBC) – too much going on here to ignore!?
Crack this and its another game changing product! Expecting an update soon..
'One in three MRI scans use contrast to improve the diagnostic accuracy of the scan. In the US alone, that equates to approximately 10 million scans per year of which 40% are neuro scans. While the associated cost savings of contrast agent material alone is substantial, the potential impact to routine clinical practice is also significant. For instance, not having to inject contrast agents results in more efficient clinical workflows. Moreover, since the administration of contrast agent is not always performed properly and may result in lost scanner time or rescheduled scans, patient throughput and scanner utilisation may also increase. There are also costs associated with the power injectors themselves. Most importantly, a successful gad-free program will further reduce the potential risks associated with gadolinium retention in the body.'
I think a lot more to come with their collaboration with Mayo - a suggestion of breast & prostate for their potential next markets is in the research. If this is confirmed will add more 'meat' to the posed connection between Mayo, Google & IQAI. DYOR
Drax, they took the decision to sell SC & concentrate on accelerating other products to market which they have achieved.
If SC had no commercial viability then why were two majors interested, 1 of whom signed LOI to buy!? & then why not just sell if they felt they were not able to generate sales - they have plenty of other products they are now marketing!?
Decision to retain suggests sales should follow the enhancements requested by clients - as per their last update on SC - 'During this period, requests for trials of SC, as well as inquiries from international distributors, have been steadily received. Feedback from these trials has provided the opportunity for end users to use SC and identify fundamental workflow enhancements which are now being readily addressed and implemented by IQ-AI's development team. The team is now preparing to release version 2.0 of SC in early Q4 2020.'
Re IB Suite:
'Being the acknowledged standard in dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC) imaging is without doubt a notable milestone and this national consensus recommendation is long overdue. MR DSC is the most common perfusion technology used for the evaluation of brain tumours, but most sites have yet to adopt or have not yet fully comprehended the value of having proven quantitative biomarkers available for brain tumour assessment. This may be due to decades of inconsistent and suboptimal ways of acquiring and/or post-processing DSC data. Or maybe it is because improperly implemented leakage correction algorithms were used in studies that led to mixed, inconsistent, or controversial publications that left the healthcare community questioning the robustness of DSC imaging. The lack of staffing and resources may have also impeded adoption. Whatever the circumstances were at the time, they now no longer apply.'
‘As more clinicians become aware of the value of a standardised DSC imaging protocol, IB anticipates that many other hospitals and imaging centres will follow suit. Making this technology widely available and affordable was an initial goal of the founding team at IB, and it may soon become a reality for the benefit of patients.’
Since the acknowledgement IB has proved commercially viable & the recent contracts could signal it being adopted as the standard for cancer centres & hospitals. As quoted from Keck
"The reliability of IB Neuro's rCBV maps empower our physicians with confidence that we are making the right decisions for our patients," says Mark Shiroishi, MD, Director of Neuro-Oncology Imaging at Keck Medical Center and Chief of Pediatric Neuroradiology at the LA County/USC Medical Center.
LSN has just been granted US & Europe clearance so contracts will be forthcoming once marketed. IB stroke is also relatively recent. GAD free & IB CAD to come. I would expect to hear of exciting developments from Mayo clinic & Keck in the not too distant future including imaging in other areas such as breast cancer - 'exponential growth'