CompuMed to partner with Johns Hopkins

Bone densitometry firm CompuMed has announced that it has received a letter of intent from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine of Baltimore and Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory of Laurel, MD, to collaborate on the development of a 3-D musculoskeletal imaging system developed by the two Johns Hopkins institutions.

Through research funded by NASA, the two institutions are refining a 3-D musculoskeletal imaging system that may yield precise measurement of bone and muscle structure and strength, according to Manhattan Beach, CA-based CompuMed. The system uses a high-resolution x-ray scanning technique that images bones with several projections in different directions, allowing for more accurate dimension measurements and the generation of 3-D engineering models of the subject’s bones, according to the company.

The system employs an amorphous silicon flat-panel digital x-ray detector provided by Palo Alto, CA, companies Varian Medical Systems and dpiX. CompuMed employs a similar version of the detector in its Digital OsteoView 2000 system. Under the terms of the agreement, JHU and CompuMed will explore commercialization of the scanner for use in assessment of bone strength changes in osteoporosis.

Engineering resources at APL will also be deployed to complete the manufacturing design and augment the clinical capability of Digital OsteoView 2000. As part of the agreement, the utility of JHU-developed technologies will be evaluated for inclusion in current or future CompuMed products, according to the firm.