Initiated collection of liver samples to inform adjacent NAFLD /...

Initiated collection of liver samples to inform adjacent NAFLD / NASH Torso Scanner opportunity

In a collaboration with The University of Queensland and Metro South Hospital & Health Service, and via a $160,000 Queensland Biomedical Assistance Fund grant, a research project is being undertaken to develop a potential novel, cost effective, portable and safe electromagnetic torso scanner. The system would utilise the same core technology being developed for brain imaging, with custom algorithms and hardware for the detection and monitoring of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). EMvision retains the rights to its intellectual property and intellectual property created during the research project.

During the quarter, the research team commenced the collection of patient liver samples at the Princess Alexandra Hospital with the aim to understand the baseline electrical properties of healthy and unhealthy liver tissue. The target date for the acquisition and analysis of this primary data is in the first half of 2019.

Due to the high prevalence of NAFLD and it’s significant economic burden, there has been an urgent need to develop reliable, cost effective and non-invasive diagnostics that can accurately predict the presence of this life threatening disease without the need for liver biopsy.