VentriPoint Diagnostics Ltd (CVE:VPT) said a clinical study has started at a world leading cardiac centre in Alberta evaluating the firm's Ventripoint VMS+ heart analysis system.
The study is expected to take around three months and include 40-50 patients.
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Clinicians at the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute in Edmonton will be using the firm's tech to analyze poor quality ultrasound images from heart patients.
Normally, contrast enhanced 2D echocardiography would be used to try and get better images but the study will assess the capabilities of the VMS+ .
"In 10-20% of patients the images collected by standard 2D ultrasound are not clear enough to allow for interpretation using conventional methods. Using the artificial intelligence (AI) approach embedded in the VMS+ heart analysis system, the standard images can be analyzed," said Ventripoint.
The reduction in the number of contrast-enhanced 2D echo studies would lead to significant savings in time and costs, it added.
It would also reduce the need to inject patients with contrast media.
It is worth noting that the use of contrast-enhanced ultrasound is increasing in the western world with the burgeoning population of heavier people making it more difficult to obtain clear images using ultrasound.
The Mazankowski insititure is home to a team of skilled cardiologists, cardiovascular surgeons, cardiac care professionals and researchers and educators.
VentriPoint shares in Toronto are up 1.82% to C$0.28 at the time of writing.