Letter from GA after nr Aug 8
Attached is a new release outlining our progress in developing the next generation of cardiac ultrasound products which will be more user friendly and immediate, as well as smaller and less costly. Here is some background:
1. The VMS+ uses a very expensive tracking system based upon magnetic location technology developed for the military to monitor head position of fighter pilots to determine when they blackout and activate the autopilot. This technology is decades old and has the added disadvantage that it cannot be used with patients with pacemakers or defibrillators, which as the population ages is approaching 20% of patients.
2. We set out to build a better tracking system based upon modern technologies and filed a patent on the design last year. This has advanced quickly and we now have a working prototype showing excellent accuracy and it can be used in patients with implantable cardiac devices.
3. Additionally, we have change the reference point so that we no longer need the patient to be motionless while images are collected. This is a major upgrade in the everyday use of the VMS+ - something called workflow. Also, we have reduced the size and cost drastically so we will be able to offer the new VMS3.0 as a rental or a subscription basis to clinics which do not have access to capital to purchase a VMS.
4. We have already had inquiries from other non-cardiac ultrasound OEMs, asking about the tracking system as they need it for needle tracking and many other application outside or cardiology. We see a significant business opportunity to license others to use the tracking system.
5. Lastly, we have filed a new patent on using this new tracking system in small handheld ultrasound systems which are starting to be used in ERs, doctor’s offices and elsewhere instead of stethoscopes. The issue with these smaller devices is the images are poor quality and they are being viewed on small screens making analysis almost impossible. As you know we excel at obtaining accurate analysis from low-quality images, so we are discussing with the makers of these handheld devices adding the new tracking system and then offering a service to do analysis from these handheld devices. In discussions with leading cardiologists, they are concerned that non-cardiologosts will soon be using these devices for screening and trying to interpret the images, which they will not do correctly. They want a solution like ours to allow the front-line doctors to get it right and refer patients to the cardiologists when appropriate.
