FDA Approves Hyperpolarized Xenon for MRI
The US FDA has granted Polarean Imaging plc approval for its drug device combination product, XENOVIEW. XENOVIEW, prepared from the Xenon Xe 129 Gas Blend, is a hyperpolarized contrast agent indicated for use with MR imaging for evaluation of lung ventilation in adults and pediatric patients aged 12 years and older. XENOVIEW has not been evaluated for use with lung perfusion imaging.
XENOVIEW expands the opportunity for pulmonary medicine to utilize the first and only inhaled MRI hyperpolarized contrast agent for novel visualization of lung ventilation without exposing patients to any ionizing radiation and its associated risks. The dose of XENOVIEW, created through the Polarean HPX hyperpolarization system, is administered in a single 10-15 second breath hold MRI procedure.
More than 30 million Americans suffer from a chronic lung disease and there is a significant unmet need for non-invasive diagnostic technology. XENOVIEW can provide pulmonologists, surgeons, and other respiratory specialists with regional maps of ventilation in their patients’ lungs to assist them in managing their disease.
Richard Hullihen, Chief Executive Officer of Polarean said: “FDA approval represents achievement of a major milestone for Polarean’s technology. This was only possible in close collaboration with multiple research clinicians and scientists globally, who we thank for their tireless and enthusiastic work. Approval of XENOVIEW represents a major step forward in modern respiratory imaging and we are proud to have pioneered this exciting new technology for clinical use. The commercial team at Polarean is prepared to rapidly launch XENOVIEW for clinical application.”
Dr. Jason Woods, Director of Research in Pulmonary Medicine at the Cincinnati Children’s Medical Center added: “My colleagues and I in the Xenon MRI research community are thrilled that this technology is now available to reach both adolescent and adult patients. With the availability of XENOVIEW in the clinical setting, we will have the ability to evaluate regional lung ventilation, delivered with a benign safety profile, which has been a major unmet need for the patients that look to us to better understand their lung disease.”
Polarean also announces that, simultaneously with the approval of the XENOVIEW NDA, two 510(k) devices were cleared by the FDA that will further support a successful launch of the technology into the clinical marketplace: XENOVIEW VDP and the Polarean XENOVIEW 3.0T Chest Coil.
XENOVIEW VDP is image processing software that analyzes a pulmonary hyperpolarized 129-Xe MR image and a proton chest MR image to provide visualization and evaluation of lung ventilation in adults and pediatric patients aged 12 years and older. This image analysis platform quantifies normalized xenon intensity of a ventilated space using a pulmonary hyperpolarized 129-Xe ventilation MR image and accompanying proton chest MR image. The software will be used by clinicians to assist in the interpretation and numerical classification of hyperpolarized 129-Xe ventilation MR images.
The Polarean XENOVIEW 3.0T Chest Coil is a flexible, single channel, transmit-receive (T/R) RF coil tuned to 129Xe frequency on a 3.0T MRI magnetic field of a compatible MRI scanner. The Polarean XENOVIEW 3.0T Chest Coil is indicated to be used in conjunction with compatible 3.0T MRI scanners and approved xenon Xe 129 hyperpolarized for oral inhalation for evaluation of lung ventilation in adults and pediatric patients aged 12 years and older. The Chest Coil is intended to be worn by a patient who inhales hyperpolarized 129Xe gas (XENOVIEW) to obtain an MR image of the regional distribution of hyperpolarized 129Xe in the lungs.