NEWS RELEASE
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Raymond Schulz, Voxel (tm)
714-348-3200, [email protected]
Kay Paumier, Communications Plus
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Physicians Report that Digital Holography Aids Diagnosis and Treatment of Complex Spinal and Head & Neck Conditions
May 19, 1997 -- Laguna Hills, California -- Physicians reporting at recent medical meetings describe how the Digital Holography (tm) System from Voxel (NASDAQ:VOXL) is helping them diagnose and treat complex spinal and cranial anomalies.
The Digital Holography System uses data routinely collected by Computed Tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance (MR) scanners to produce true three-dimensional holograms. The life-size, transparent Voxgram (r) images literally extend out in space. The holograms enable a physician to interact in, around and through an image as if it were a real specimen of anatomy.
Digital Holograms Provide Surgical 'Road Map' for Scoliosis -- Dr. Steven M. Wetzner, Chairman of the Department of Radiology of New England Baptist Hospital (Boston), evaluated the diagnostic efficacy of CT multiple-exposure volumetric holography in the assessment of patients with scoliosis. Dr. Wetzner presented his findings at the annual meeting of the American Roentgen Ray Society in Boston.
Holograms were created from the digital CT data of 20 patients with complex scoliotic configurations. The holograms were displayed in the coronal, oblique coronal, sagittal and split-sagittal projections. Two independent viewers, a radiologist and a surgeon, evaluated the holograms to determine their diagnostic efficacy and impact on surgical planning.
The doctors concluded that CT-generated holograms of scoliosis provided a "unique and accurate display of complex skeletal deformity and thus enable effective interactive preoperative planning." In all 20 patients evaluated, "the integrity of the spinal canal, relative encroachment of neural foramen and facet involvement could be displayed in multiple projections. The resultant images, especially for patients with severe kyphosis, provided diagnostic information in exams that would have had only marginal efficacy by conventional display techniques. Additionally, the holograms provided an accurate interactive operative 'road map' prior to corrective surgery." (CT-Generated Volumetric Holographic Evaluation of Scoliosis, presentation at the American Roentgen Ray Society annual meeting, May 8)
Carotid MRA Holograms + Ultrasound May Be a New Standard in Imaging -- Dr. Wetzner also evaluated the combination of MR Angiography (MRA) based holograms plus ultrasound as a potential alternative to angiography in the assessment of atherosclerotic disease.
Thirty patients underwent standard color Doppler ultrasound (CDI) and MRA. Volumetric holograms were created from the MRA data. Two independent viewers evaluated the MRA and CDI images for diagnostic concurrence and for the potential for therapeutic intervention. The doctors found that both the "MRA volumetric holograms and CDI provide an accurate depiction of lesions at the carotid bifurcation." In 28 of the 30 patients, the sonographic images agreed with the holographic appearance of the luminal stenosis. In the remaining two patients, the sonographic images suggested that there was vessel occlusion, whereas the MRA hologram accurately demonstrated that the arteries were partially open.
Dr. Wetzner concluded that the combination of CDI and holographic MRA "appears to be an extremely effective tool in the preoperative evaluation of carotid atherosclerotic disease and may supplant angiography as a new gold standard." (Holographic MR Angiography [HMRA] and Color Doppler Ultrasound Imaging [CDI] of Atheriosclerotic Disease: Is There a New"Gold Standard?" poster presentation at the American Roentgen Ray Society annual meeting, May 5 to May 9)
Digital Holography 'Proves Invaluable' for Surgeons and Families in Understanding Upper C-Spine Abnormalities in Young Children -- Dr. Jill V. Hunter, Staff Neuroradiologist at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, assessed Digital Holography's value in displaying congenital anomalities of the cervical spine, abnormalities that "can be extraordinarily hard to interpret from a stack of 2-D axial slices." Dr. Hunter presented her findings at the annual meeting of the American Society of Neuroradiologists (ASNR).
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Hologram were made of CT data from five sequential cases of congenital cranio-cervical anomalities. The doctors used the holograms "to pre-plan surgery" and "in an interactive fashion per-operatively in the OR."
The "transparent nature of the film" and the fact that the 3-D holograms can be "inverted to view the data set from the opposite direction" enhanced understanding of the anatomy. Analyzing the holograms proved "invaluable" in understanding the "unexpected relationships of these often abnormally formed bones." Additionally, the holograms helped the doctors "explain the nature of their child's problem to the parents." (True 3-D Digital Holography as a Tool for Displaying Congenital Abnormalities of the Cranio-cervical Junction in a Pediatric Population, ASNR presentation, Monday, May 19, Metro Toronto Convention Center, 11:44 a.m., Room 104CD)
Other Studies -- In addition to the institutions cited above, several other prominent medical institutions throughout the country have studied Digital Holography, including Beth Israel Hospital-Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Walter Reed Army Medical Center and UCLA.
The Digital Holography System was awarded FDA clearance in October 1995. The following December, the AMA notified Voxel that holography was a reimbursable expense under CPT code 73675. In January 1997, the U.S. Patent Office awarded Voxel patents on 13 fundamental claims related to making multiple exposure holograms. Voxel, based in Laguna Hills, California, is a public company founded to develop, manufacture and market holographically based, volumetric display systems. Additional information is available on the company's web site (http://www.voxel.com).
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Note to Editors: Video of some of the studies is available.
Voxel and Digital Holography are trademarks, and Voxgram is a registered trademark of Voxel.
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