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News and Events >The University of Colorado Announces a License Agreement with Cardiac Access
The University of Colorado Announces a License Agreement with Cardiac Access
April 19, 2005
Boulder, CO - The University of Colorado has licensed a diagnostic decision support system to Cardiac Access LLC, a start-up company that combines technology discovered in the School of Engineering with the needs of pediatric cardiologists who have joint appointments at CU's Health Sciences Center ("HSC") and The Children's Hospital ("TCH"). Incorporating an artificial neural network ("ANN") that has been trained with data obtained on pediatric patients, the system will enable a doctor or nurse to quickly and accurately diagnose suspected heart murmurs at the point-of-care with a digital stethoscope.
The system was originally developed through a grant from TCH that enabled researchers to record pediatric heart murmurs and use that information to "train" the ANN. By comparing the results of benign and potentially problematic heart murmurs against known disease states across a statistically verifiable sample, the ANN learns to distinguish between the two, thereby enabling clinicians to verify their diagnosis and improve patient care.
Results of the pilot study were published in 2001 as the lead article in the journal Circulation. Across a sample data set of 69 patients, the system demonstrated 100% sensitivity and 100% specificity. Since then, 1,500 additional patient data sets have been collected and Cardiac Access is currently using the data to enhance the ANN for incorporation into its first line of products. By assisting clinicians in making rapid and specific diagnosis of heart murmurs at the point-of-care, the system will enhance triage efficiency, expedite diagnosis and treatment of pathologic murmurs, and reduce overall costs to the healthcare system.
"Cardiac Access already has one channel partner in place and more in discussions so we are excited by the market prospects for our technology and look forward to introducing products that assist healthcare providers in accurately diagnosing heart disease," says Chip Galaty, General Manager of Cardiac Access.
About Cardiac Access
Cardiac Access LLC is engaged in the development and commercialization of novel technologies for improving the diagnosis and treatment of various cardiac diseases. The founders had previously collaborated on academic research under the banner of MEDICA, a CU-HSC-TCH consortium focused on researching medical technologies with potential cardiovascular applications. Over the past five years, the founders have collectively worked on more than 15 promising cardiovascular projects, including diagnostic decision support systems, implantable sensors, and advanced imaging techniques.
Cardiac Access's strategy is to identify and license cardiovascular technologies from universities and national laboratories, determine clinical applications for the technologies, enhance the technologies in the lab and through in vivo studies, validate the technologies in the target applications, and develop commercialization strategies with outside partners.
Contact Information
Chip Galaty
Cardiac Access LLC
(303) 524-9335
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