The University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC) has placed an order for another of Polarean Imaging PLC’s (LON:POLX) 9820 Xenon Polariser system.
KUMC is a major research and teaching hospital and this polariser will form the cornerstone of a new hyperpolarised 129Xe imaging research programme.
WATCH: Polarean on track to complete enrolment for phase III trials
Following receipt of this latest order, Polarean now has a total of 25 polarisers either installed or on order.
“We are delighted to begin our relationship with KUMC and look forward to a long and mutually beneficial work programme which will aim to expand the clinical and public health frontiers of hyperpolarised xenon imaging,” said chief executive Richard Hullihen.
Better MRI scans
MRI scans generally aren’t very useful in assessing lung function, but Polarean is trying to change that. The company has developed a drug-device combination which uses hyperpolarised 129-Xenon gas MRI.
By inhaling and holding a small amount of the gas for just a few seconds, the patient is able to create a much stronger MRI signal, providing doctors with multiple images of lung structure and function.
Polarean, which is looking to sell the gas, the instrument which polarises the gas, and an associated quality assurance device, kicked off a trial of the technology last summer in two sites: Duke University and the University of Virginia and at the University of Cincinnati in June.
The trial is a 'head-to-head' non-inferiority trial testing 129Xe MRI against 133-Xenon (133Xe) scintigraphy.
In morning trading, Polarean shares were 4% higher at 20.80p.
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