Functional respiratory imaging (FRI) company Fluidda announced that the FDA has cleared the company’s Broncholab FRI platform for use in clinical settings. According to the company, Broncholab can provide much more accurate information about patient-specific regional lung function than conventional test methods like spirometry, allowing for better diagnosis and treatment of patients.
Using a combination of high resolution CT scans, artificial intelligence, and CFD, FRI can show how different regions of the lung are functioning. Fluidda has been consulting with the FDA on the use of FRI since at least 2014, and FRI has been used to reduce the size and length of clinical trials for inhaled drugs. According to the company’s web site, almost 200 hospitals are currently using FRI for research.
Fluidda CEO Jan De Backer commented, “Functional respiratory imaging has been used in clinical trials for many years and has proven its value time and time again. Broncholab now extends these capabilities into clinical practice which is a tremendous step forward in our quest for better respiratory care. We are living in a time where respiratory viruses cause significant disruption to daily life with high associated cost. We are striving to better understand respiratory illnesses with our novel technology to be more prepared for the next viral outbreak and to deal with the increased number of patients with lung diseases worldwide. The latter can be done by getting a better handle on the heterogeneity of the lung disease and how to best reach those areas through the use inhalation medication. If we understand lung diseases better, we will be able to design and prescribe the right inhaler for the right patient.”
Read the Fluidda press release.
