EOS Imaging Buys Rights to Scoliosis Progression Prognosis Software Technology

EOS Imaging has acquired exclusive rights to a worldwide license for a technology dedicated to the prognosis of adolescent scoliosis using 3-D and 2-D clinical parameters obtained from EOS systems.

A multi-center clinical study has launched in 8 centers equipped with EOS systems (in the United States, Canada, France, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong) to measure the technology’s ability to predict the risk of young patients with mild scoliosis later developing a severe deformity.

“This promising technology confirms the value of the 3D data naturally associated with EOS images in developing applications and services dedicated to orthopedic care pathways,” said Marie Meynadier, CEO of EOS. “Acquiring these exclusive rights is an integral part of our global strategy to offer doctors not only cutting-edge imaging technology, but also a full suite of software and services to help them in their therapeutic strategies and execution, to the greatest benefit to patients.”

The software’s algorithm, developed by Montreal, Canada-based surgeons and engineers, uses several clinical parameters available in patient reports from the sterEOS workstation. It establishes a predictive score, which could measure the risk of a patient at an early, mild stage of scoliosis developing a severe form of the pathology. Preliminary data on this predictive score will be presented at the forthcoming 50th Scoliosis Research Society (SRS) Meeting to be held in Minneapolis, Minn., from September 30th to October 3rd.

Treating scoliosis, whether via surgery or using a brace, is invasive. The ability to predict the risk of scoliosis progressing can facilitate both the choice of therapy – surgery or a brace—and its acceptance by young patients. Although its efficacy has been proven, wearing a brace can be difficult to accept for adolescent patients. In this area, EOS imaging is also involved in programs targeting the improvement of brace design using 3-D information of the spine, ribcage and patient body contours.

The EOS platform provides 2-D and 3-D full-body, stereo-radiographic images of patients in functional positions. EOS exams require a radiation dose 50 percent to 85 percent less than digital radiology and 95 percent less than basic computed tomography (CT) scans. The new EOS Micro Dose system, recently cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, marks another important step towards the ALARA principle (as low as reasonably available), the company reports. This latest technology has made the dose for a pediatric spine follow-up exam equivalent to a week of natural background radiation on Earth.

Based in France, EOS Imaging makes EOS, an innovative medical imaging system dedicated to osteoarticular pathologies and orthopaedics, as well as associated solutions.