The Medipattern Corporation (TSX VENTURE:MKI), a pioneer in the development of medical software solutions that help improve imaging workflow and productivity and Sentinelle Medical Inc., a leading manufacturer of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) coils and advanced visualization software, have announced that they are entering a technology access and distribution agreement.
Medipattern pioneered breast ultrasound computer aided detection (CAD) and leveraged this experience towards the development of powerful breast lesion MRI morphological analysis technology. Under the agreement, Sentinelle would gain exclusive license to Medipattern's breast MRI morphological analysis technology.
"Breast MRI imaging is based on injecting the patient with a contrast agent and then taking successive images using MRI dynamics to watch the way the contrast is washed-in (uptake) and washed out. All of the major Breast MRI CAD products on the market today perform computer aided detection of the uptake and the washout of this contrast. One of the pieces that has been almost entirely overlooked is the actual physical structure or morphology of the tissue directly imaged by MRI. Medipattern's technology focuses on assisting the radiologist interpret the direct imaging or morphology," comments A. Thomas Stavros, MD radiologist at Sutter Women's Healthcare in Santa Rosa, CA. "Combining morphological analysis and Sentinelle's High Resolution coils is a win-win for physicians reading breast MRI. While breast MRI imaging has been found to be an important indicator, many of the workstations have been limited by just reviewing the dynamic element (wash-in and wash-out). Adding in the morphological analysis extends breast MRI analysis to an even greater and possibly even more vital role in breast cancer evaluation."