Gamma Medica-Ideas Announces Sale of Two Pre-clinical Imaging Systems to Switzerland’s Centre d’Imagerie Biomédicale
Los Angeles, CA, October 04, 2007 --(PR.com)-- Gamma Medica-Ideas Inc. (GM-I), the world leader in developing and delivering digital medical imaging devices for the pre-clinical and clinical markets, announced today that the Centre d’Imagerie Biomédicale (CIBM) in Lausanne, Switzerland, has taken delivery of two of GM-I’s pre-clinical systems. The first one is a FLEX Triumph™ platform including a X-PET™ PET sub-system and high resolution X-O™ CT sub-system with GM-I’s new VIVID™ software, as well as cardiac gating and anesthesia systems, being installed at the Nuclear Medicine Department of the University Hospital of Geneva (HUG). Second, a LabPET™ system is being installed at École Polytechnique Fédérale of Lausanne (EPFL). In addition, GM-I disclosed that GM-I will install its first MagPET™ system, an entirely novel PET-MR insert system, at EPFL in 2008.
Scientists at the newly created CIBM will use the GM-I systems to develop novel PET agents and for major research initiatives to expand molecular imaging, such as metabolic imaging of biochemical reactions in real-time in combination with magnetic resonance imaging methods. This research will be conducted in close proximity to the existing cyclotron located at HUG, whereas integration of PET with MRI imaging will be performed at EPFL. The CIBM was founded by five Swiss institutions, including EPFL, university hospitals and universities in Lausanne and Geneva, to develop and strengthen biomedical imaging research centered in the Geneva-Lausanne region of Switzerland.
"The new advances in PET technology will bridge an important gap across modalities in furthering our work in biomedical imaging and research, as well as related applications, and it opens new perspectives in tracer development," according to CIBM director Dr. Rolf Gruetter. "We are interested in collaborative investigations of the brain, specifically studying the highly specialized neuro-glial interactions in the central nervous system and regulation of cerebral blood flow in addition to exploring models of neurodegenerative diseases and imaging in diabetes, a major healthcare problem in the developed world."
According to Dr. Osman Ratib, HUG’s Chair of Radiology and head of Nuclear Medicine, these advanced developments in animal imaging technology are unique and will lead to faster development and new discoveries applicable to clinical and pre-clinical research. "We have great expectations from close collaborations between different teams, from engineering, to fundamental cell biology to clinical applications" claimed Dr. Ratib.
Gamma Medica-Ideas’ FLEX Triumph™ multi-modality pre-clinical platform offers multiple configurations to meet user needs. Key application areas include cardiology, neurology, oncology, and bone analysis. The platform is designed and manufactured to be easily upgradeable to fit growing needs. It can combine up to three different imaging modalities (PET, SPECT, and CT) in a single platform. The LabPET™ system, GM-I’s fully digital APD PET system, can be used as a stand-alone system or as part of the FLEX Triumph system. The MagPET™ system, a PET-MR insert system, is being developed to provide LabPET technology within an MR field.
About Gamma Medica-Ideas, Inc.
Gamma Medica-Ideas (GM-I) designs, builds and services imaging systems based on novel technologies to improve patient health through early diagnosis of disease, improved patient treatment and by enabling new drug discovery. GM-I is dedicated to leading medical imaging into a new digital era with its unique sensor readout systems. The company’s core digital imaging technologies also hold great promise for a new class of solutions for the safety and security markets. In the pre-clinical space, GM-I’s FLEX Triumph™ imaging platform is marketed for medical research and drug development. The FLEX Triumph system combines PET (X-PET™ or its new fully digital LabPET™), SPECT (X-SPECT®) and CT (X-O™) modalities in the world’s first tri-modality system. In the clinical space, GM-I offers LumaGEM®, its dual-headed Molecular Breast Imaging (MBI) based system for early diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. The digital gamma ray imaging technology in LumaGEM offers significant advances in resolution and contrast which has allowed for identification of millimeter sized breast cancers missed by mammography, especially in women with dense breast tissue.
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Scientists at the newly created CIBM will use the GM-I systems to develop novel PET agents and for major research initiatives to expand molecular imaging, such as metabolic imaging of biochemical reactions in real-time in combination with magnetic resonance imaging methods. This research will be conducted in close proximity to the existing cyclotron located at HUG, whereas integration of PET with MRI imaging will be performed at EPFL. The CIBM was founded by five Swiss institutions, including EPFL, university hospitals and universities in Lausanne and Geneva, to develop and strengthen biomedical imaging research centered in the Geneva-Lausanne region of Switzerland.
"The new advances in PET technology will bridge an important gap across modalities in furthering our work in biomedical imaging and research, as well as related applications, and it opens new perspectives in tracer development," according to CIBM director Dr. Rolf Gruetter. "We are interested in collaborative investigations of the brain, specifically studying the highly specialized neuro-glial interactions in the central nervous system and regulation of cerebral blood flow in addition to exploring models of neurodegenerative diseases and imaging in diabetes, a major healthcare problem in the developed world."
According to Dr. Osman Ratib, HUG’s Chair of Radiology and head of Nuclear Medicine, these advanced developments in animal imaging technology are unique and will lead to faster development and new discoveries applicable to clinical and pre-clinical research. "We have great expectations from close collaborations between different teams, from engineering, to fundamental cell biology to clinical applications" claimed Dr. Ratib.
Gamma Medica-Ideas’ FLEX Triumph™ multi-modality pre-clinical platform offers multiple configurations to meet user needs. Key application areas include cardiology, neurology, oncology, and bone analysis. The platform is designed and manufactured to be easily upgradeable to fit growing needs. It can combine up to three different imaging modalities (PET, SPECT, and CT) in a single platform. The LabPET™ system, GM-I’s fully digital APD PET system, can be used as a stand-alone system or as part of the FLEX Triumph system. The MagPET™ system, a PET-MR insert system, is being developed to provide LabPET technology within an MR field.
About Gamma Medica-Ideas, Inc.
Gamma Medica-Ideas (GM-I) designs, builds and services imaging systems based on novel technologies to improve patient health through early diagnosis of disease, improved patient treatment and by enabling new drug discovery. GM-I is dedicated to leading medical imaging into a new digital era with its unique sensor readout systems. The company’s core digital imaging technologies also hold great promise for a new class of solutions for the safety and security markets. In the pre-clinical space, GM-I’s FLEX Triumph™ imaging platform is marketed for medical research and drug development. The FLEX Triumph system combines PET (X-PET™ or its new fully digital LabPET™), SPECT (X-SPECT®) and CT (X-O™) modalities in the world’s first tri-modality system. In the clinical space, GM-I offers LumaGEM®, its dual-headed Molecular Breast Imaging (MBI) based system for early diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. The digital gamma ray imaging technology in LumaGEM offers significant advances in resolution and contrast which has allowed for identification of millimeter sized breast cancers missed by mammography, especially in women with dense breast tissue.
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Gamma Medica-Ideas
Marie-France Lamoureux
819-212-4422
www.gm-ideas.com
Marie-France Lamoureux
819-212-4422
www.gm-ideas.com
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