Posted: 25 July 2023
The Albanese Government has provided $1.1 million towards development of a new scanner which could revolutionise diagnosis of deadly lung conditions around the world.
The XV-Perfusion lung scanner measures both ventilation (air flow) and perfusion (blood flow) throughout a patient’s lungs during a breath. The scan is safe, fast and does not require a contrast dye.
It could provide highly detailed information, allowing medical professionals to detect lung diseases at an earlier stage.
4D Medical is developing the new generation scanner as part of the Australian Lung Health Initiative. This investment complements $28.9 million provided to the Australian Lung Health Initiative by the Government to fast track the commercialisation of this promising scanner.
Respiratory diseases, including lung cancer, impose a huge burden on health in Australia and around the world, but current diagnostic tools cannot provide the detailed assessment needed for early detection and diagnosis.
This investment complements the Albanese Government’s commitment to establish a new National Lung Cancer Screening Program from July 2025. The $263.8 million program will target heavy and/or long-term smokers aged 50 to 70 years who are not already showing symptoms of lung cancer.
The screening program will use low dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening delivered in mobile clinics.
The funding to 4DMedical to progress commercialisation of the world’s first dedicated lung function scanner is one of six grants to medical technology projects announced today. Totalling $6.2 million, the grants are made under the Medical Research Future Fund’s Medical Research Commercialisation Initiative.
Read further details about the six projects.
Quotes attributable to Minister Butler:
“This lung scanner was invented by Australians and is now nearing commercial development. It could save thousands of Australian lives by detecting lung cancer early.
“Turning a scientific discovery into a medical product that’s ready for clinical use is a long and expensive process.
“The grants to the lung scanner and five other outstanding Australian innovations will allow these new treatments and devices to start helping people sooner, here and around the world.”
Quotes attributable to Professor Andreas Fouras, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of 4DMedical:
“This funding will allow us to further develop 4DMedical’s XV Scanner, the world’s only dedicated respiratory imaging platform, a unique patient scan that is safe, fast and free of any need for contrast agents.
“Combining imaging of airflow and blood flow into a single analytical process represents a dramatic advancement in respiratory health care and will improve the level of clinical insight it delivers.
“It will provide the ideal test for phenotyping, early detection and evaluation of specific treatment responses for high-impact lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis, pulmonary hypertension and pulmonary embolism.
“This funding accelerates our company’s vision to upgrade the functionality of this Australian-made capability with global application, overcoming limitations of existing lung diagnostic techniques, such as relative insensitivity in early diagnoses of lung diseases, and ineffective monitoring of disease progression.”
