Friday, December 23, 2022
PAVmed Inc., a diversified commercial-stage medical technology company, operating in the medical device, diagnostics, and digital health sectors, today announced that it has entered into a license option and joint research and development agreement with Novosound Ltd. (“Novosound”), a venture-backed technology company based in Glasgow, Scotland, to explore applying Novosound’s proprietary flexible thin-film ultrasound technology in medical imaging, initially targeting next-generation intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) imaging.
“Nearly all of the advances in ultrasound imaging technology over the past several decades have focused on leveraging an explosion of computational power for digital image processing, along with novel configurations of otherwise decades-old, rigid, machined ceramic, piezoelectric sensors,” said Lishan Aklog, M.D., PAVmed’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “The Novosound team has developed groundbreaking technology whereby the piezoelectric material is lithographically ‘printed’ on a flexible thin-film substrate and have proven the technology’s applicability in a commercially successful industrial application.”
“We believe Novosound’s technology, which overcomes many of the limitations of conventional ultrasound, including the cost of high-frequency, high-resolution imaging, has the potential to be a once-in-a-generation breakthrough in ultrasonic medical imaging,” Dr. Aklog added. “We are excited to join forces with Novosound to explore applying their technology in medical imaging, initially targeting the intravascular ultrasound catheter market. This partnership is a testament to our ongoing commitment to seek out and make modest investments in innovative technologies with large market opportunities while continuing to drive commercialization of our Lucid and Veris product lines.”
“The PAVmed team has a strong track record of innovation and delivering commercial-stage medical technologies,” said Dave Hughes, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Novosound. “They are the ideal partners for Novosound as we increasingly gain traction in the international healthcare sector.”
Under the terms of the agreement, PAVmed and Novosound will collaborate on a joint research and development project to establish that Novosound’s proprietary technology can be incorporated into an intravascular ultrasound catheter, producing cross-sectional images of vascular structures using high-resolution, low-cost, miniaturized ultrasound two-dimensional arrays without the mechanical rotation of sensors that IVUS catheters have historically required. Upon achievement of certain development milestones, PAVmed will have the option to license Novosound’s technology for use in the commercialization of intravascular imaging products. Target specifications include order of magnitude improvements in image resolution and sensor manufacturing costs, offering the potential for a disposable product. PAVmed and Novosound already have an active partnership that seeks to apply Novosound’s ultrasound technology to PAVmed’s CarpX® Minimally Invasive Device for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
