MedTrace Pharma has secured a U.S. patent for a software algorithm that will play an important role in its efforts to make PET with oxygen-15 labeled water widely available in clinical settings.
15 O-water has a reputation as a gold-standard radioactive tracer for PET imaging, but supply chain problems around the substance have hindered adoption. Hørsholm, Denmark–based MedTrace, which opened a U.S. headquarters in downtown Minneapolis last year, seeks to solve the problem by moving 15 O-water production inside hospitals with an automated point-of-care chemistry system. A Phase 3 clinical trial of the system is presently underway.
The new patent covers the algorithm that is the foundation of aQuant, the company’s software currently under development. It protects MedTrace’s unique way of modeling the human heart via PET flow signals.
Rune Wiik Kristensen — co-founder, COO and U.S. VP at MedTrace — described the patent as an important milestone.
“What makes this patent so important is it´s robustness. We are in the realm of quantification of blood flow and perfusion, and the clinical environment expects us to provide robust and reliable methodologies that are easy to use. It really is a thing of beauty and elegance created here!” Kristensen said in a news release.
Kristensen added that the aQuant software is on track for completion of its development phase. After the validation is completed, MedTrace will push for market approval in the U.S. and EU.