EU Patent Awarded to IQ-IA Limited for Dual-Echo MR Perfusion Processing

IQ-IA Limited has been awarded a European Patent for “Multiparameter Perfusion Imaging with Leakage Correction,” a combined magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) acquisition and post-processing technology also referred to as dual-echo. Imaging Biometrics, LLC (IB), an IQ-AI subsidiary, already possesses the post-processing technology made available in IB Neuro.

Standardizing the acquisition protocols across all major vendor platforms, such as GE Healthcare, Philips Healthcare and Siemens Healthineers, is the final component. This work is being funded in part by a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded to Principal Investigator Dr. Charles Quarles, PhD, Professor and Chair of the Division of Neuroimaging Research at the Barrow Neurological Institute (Phoenix, AZ).

This technology offers the added benefit of simultaneously generating both dynamic contrast (DSC) and dynamic contrast enhanced (DCE) permeability parameters using a single, more simplified, MR acquisition sequence. The acquisition protocol also eliminates the need to administer pre-load doses of gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCA), resulting in a 50% reduction in GBCA consumption for MR perfusion data acquisition. This reduction in GBCA for DSC perfusion imaging acquisition aligns perfectly with IQ-AI’s recently awarded patent for 0% contrast in standard MRI T1-weighted imaging, being developed in the company’s IB Zero G.

“This EU patent further extends our leading position in the translation and development of novel MR Imaging technologies in major global markets. We look forward to our continued collaboration with Dr. Quarles, other collaborators on the grant, and the leading scanner vendors in the industry,” said Michael Schmainda, CEO of IB.