Featured News
September 29, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Kate Galbreath
Tel: 312-401-4431 ex. 115
Cell: 309-287-8278
Email: kgalbreath@vassolinc.com
NOVA™ Now Available in Europe
CHICAGO—SEPT. 29, 2008 —NOVA™, the most advanced technology to quantitatively and non-invasively measure blood flow using magnetic resonance imaging, will now be available to vascular patients in Europe. Developer and producer VasSol, Inc. this month announced their partnership with Italian distributor Tekmed Instruments.
Starting in October, Tekmed Instruments will offer NOVA™ (Non-invasive Optimal Vessel Analysis) software for licensing throughout Italy. Tekmed, headquartered in Milan, has served as an exclusive distributor in the medical sector for 30 years.
NOVA™ is already available throughout the United States.
About NOVA™
NOVA™, an innovative vessel flow analysis software, works with any high field MRI scanner. Unlike other imaging methods, NOVA Quantitative MRA, or QMRA, does not require injection of a contrast solution or expose the patient to radiation. Highly accurate and reliable, NOVA™ provides clinicians with the objective data necessary to recommend management.
NOVA™ is available for the cerebrovascular, renal and peripheral vascular applications.
About VasSol
VasSol, Inc., creators of the revolutionary NOVA™ technology, is a joint effort of vascular experts and leaders in advanced computer modeling. NOVA™ is the culmination of 11 years of research and clinical study conducted at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Our mission is to provide physicians with vital information on blood flow to guide clinical decision-making and help ensure positive patient outcomes.
August 21, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NIH awards funding to study NOVA’s role in predicting posterior strokes
VasSol’s blood flow measurement software, NOVA, for Quantitative Magnetic Resonance Angiography will be part of an NIH multi-center trial on the relationship between vertebrobasilar blood flow and risk of posterior circulation stroke. The results could shed light on which patients will benefit from higher risk surgical intervention and those patients who can be safely managed on drug therapy only.
The 5 year observational study will be led by Principal Investigator, Sepideh Amin-Hanjani, MD, Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago. The participating sites are University of Illinois, Washington University, UCLA, Columbia University and Mercy Hospital in Chicago.
“Vertebrobasilar Flow Evaluation and Risk of Transient Ischemic Attack and Stroke” (VERiTAS) study will test the hypothesis that patients with blood flow limitation in the vessels supplying the back of the brain are at higher risk of posterior stroke than patients with normal flow. Over 700,000 strokes or brain attacks occurring annually in the United States and one third of all strokes occur in the posterior circulation. Symptoms may include dizziness, double vision and difficulty swallowing. Atherosclerosis or blockage of the arteries that supply the brain stem is a leading cause of posterior circulation stroke.
Dr. Hanjani and her UIC colleagues have developed the first flow-based algorithm for the management of patients with symptomatic vertebrobasilar disease (VBD) and =/> 50% stenosis of their vertebrobasilar arteries. In a preliminary study published in Stroke, patients were classified as having low flow or normal flow according to NOVA, the flow analysis software for Quantitative MRA. Two thirds of the patients in the study were found to have normal flow and were managed with medical therapy only. The remaining patients with low flow were recommended for endovascular or surgical revascularization. At an average of two year follow up, the patients with normal flow – those who had avoided surgery –had a zero incidence of stroke.
The overall goal of VERiTAS is to define the population of patients with symptomatic veretebrobasilar disease who are at greatest risk of stroke. This information would help clinicians identify the patients who are most likely to benefit from endovascular or surgical interventions, including new treatments such as intracranial stents which are currently being evaluated in clinical trials. Furthermore, if a low risk patient could avoid unnecessary surgery, it would likely result in improved patient outcomes at a reduced financial cost.
The study has been funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and opened for enrollment in July 2008.
For more information: Link 1; Link 2
June 3, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Kellie Mooney
Tel: 312.601.4437
Email: kmooney@vassolinc.com
NOVA® RENAL: A SAFE ALTERNATIVE TO CONTRAST ENHANCED MRA/MRI
Breakthrough Technology Avoids Use of Risky Gadolinium Injections
CHICAGO, June 3 2008 – VasSol’s introduction of NOVA® Renal, a gadolinium-free procedure, offers a safe alternative to the standard contrast-enhanced Magnetic Resonance Angiography (MRA) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans for patients suffering from renal disease. Contrast enhanced renal MRA/MRI has traditionally required the injection of a gadolinium based agent which the FDA has linked to the occurrence of a potentially life-threatening disease, Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis (NSF). NOVA® Renal provides a comprehensive evaluation of the renal arteries without contrast or ionizing radiation.
Who’s at Risk?
According to a report by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), one in six individuals have kidney disease, threatening their renal function and putting them at greater risk when receiving a gadolinium-enhanced MRI scan.
About NOVA®
NOVA® is the first commercially available technology to measure actual blood flow rates in individual vessels using MRA/MRI scanners. The technology provides 3-D visualization of blood vessels, as well as quantitative blood flow measurements. NOVA® adds a new element to the traditional MRA/MRI scan by merging hemodynamic assessment with anatomic images. Non-invasive blood flow measurements with NOVA® provide clinicians with more information for the diagnosis and treatment of vascular disease.
About VasSol
VasSol, is founded on 12 years of multidisciplinary research and clinical work conducted at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Bringing together experts in the fields of circulatory fluid dynamics and computer modeling, VasSol developed NOVA®, a vascular analysis technology, which helps answer the fundamental questions healthcare professionals confront when treating vascular disease: what is the severity, how is the condition best treated and what is the outcome? The VasSol mission is to shape the future of medicine by applying leading computer, engineering and medical technologies to the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of vascular disease. Further information can be found by visiting http://www.vassolinc.com
March 10,2008
ABC7 Chicago
Dr Charbel performed the first ELANA bypass at the University of Illinois Medical Center. NOVA is used to measure post operative graft patency and cerebral blood flow.
Visit us at the International Stroke Conference 2008 in New Orleans, LA, February 20th-21st Booth # 647