Attendees learn how to participate in asthma studies at the ATS 2017 Clinical Trials Awareness area.
Four ATS 2017 exhibitors are introducing products and services to help collect and analyze data during clinical trials. These products and services include imaging analysis, animal and cell-based models to assess lung fibrosis targets, well-defined source materials, and an instrumentation system to measure respiratory signals.
Imaging Analysis
Imaging Biomarker Information System software from MedQIA (Booth 1629) can be used for quantitative image analysis needed for complex clinical trials. MedQIA provides high-quality, innovative, computer-aided image interpretation and analysis for both clinical trials and radiological decision support.
The QIA approach complements conventional pulmonary function tests by being minimally invasive and by being used to perform global and regional lung assessment. The Imaging Biomarker Information System allows a variety of validated quantitative measures to be derived from any segmented lung region or sub-region, including lung lobes and zones.
MedQIA also offers an array of imaging biomarkers for COPD diagnosis and treatment. Biomarkers can be used for treatment planning and outcomes assessment of minimally invasive lobar volume-reduction techniques.
The company also provides proprietary software that uses machine learning to classify lung texture patterns, including fibrosis, honeycombing, and ground glass. This software was developed using texture feature extraction.
Assessing Lung Fibrosis Targets
Charles River (Booth 1049) has characterized numerous cell-based and animal models of lung fibrosis that can help provide a comprehensive platform to assess lung fibrosis targets and the efficacy of prospective anti-fibrotic therapies.
A combination of primary human cell-based in vitro models, validated with clinical reference molecules and well-characterized in vivo models using clinically relevant readouts, facilitates moving translational research to new therapies for pulmonary fibrosis.
Charles River offers other respiratory capabilities, ranging from human primary cell-based assays through inhalation delivery, pharmaceutics, and toxicology that provide a rapid, comprehensive platform to unlock new value from known assets. It has conducted multiple reprofiling and repurposing studies taking oral and topical drugs to inhaled delivery candidates that can optimize treatments for lung cancer when delivered directly to the lungs.
Well-Defined Source Material
Citeq (Booth 1448) provides a variety of source material and differentiated products for the research community as well as for the production of therapeutics and diagnostics. Its source materials include mites, mold, venoms, and cockroaches, and it has great experience working with house dust mites.
House dust mite extracts have been shown to induce allergic asthma in murine models. Compared with the former standard of inducing allergic asthma, house dust mite extracts mimic a better translational model of animal to patient. Citeq’s defined material research can obtain more information, offering increased reliability.
Instrumentation System
Hans Rudolph, Inc. (Both 1230) offers the SmartLabTM instrumentation system with InsightTM software for the measurement and analysis of respiratory signals in research applications. The base module can accept up to four sensor modules for measuring flow from pneumotachs and airway or other pressures, or a voltage input from an external device.
Optional inputs for the system include an oximeter, CO2 sensor, temperature, and humidity and digital input/output. The PC software provides real-time graphs and calculations of many common respiratory parameters. Data can be saved for analysis or replayed. Custom software modules can be developed for special applications.