SAN DIEGO, Oct. 04, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Livivos, Inc., a San Diego-based biomedical device technology startup, announced today that it had received a $300,000 Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to validate the diagnostic performance of the Livivos LiverScope® device.
Livivos will team with researchers at University of California San Diego (UC San Diego) under the direction of Dr. Claude Sirlin, professor of radiology in the School of Medicine, to validate the LiverScope® device's ability to measure quantitative biomarkers of fatty liver disease, a condition with steadily increasing global prevalence that has been linked to cardiovascular disease and diabetes and can progress to more serious liver disorders.
Currently, fatty liver disease can be diagnosed with MRI scanners, but these are expensive, bulky, require dedicated shielded rooms and trained technicians, and can induce claustrophobia in patients. Like MRI, the LiverScope® is based on magnetic resonance, but it is much simpler to operate, and achieves results in a small, quiet, open, table-based form factor that can be operated in a clinic or even a van, allowing a mobile scanning service.
"Livivos's mission is to make liver disease diagnosis broadly available by providing accurate, rapid, and accessible Point-of-Care assessment and this grant is a big step down our device performance evaluation path," says Dr. Pablo Prado, Livivos CEO and lead inventor of the LiverScope.® "We are excited to be working with the NIDDK and our UC San Diego collaborators, who are the country's leading experts on liver imaging."
Successful completion of this SBIR effort will set Livivos up to take the LiverScope® through the FDA clearance process, allowing the placement of the device in clinical settings and greatly increasing patient access to liver disease monitoring and steatosis reduction drug efficacy evaluation. More patients having access to diagnostic services will mean earlier and more efficient treatment, leading to better patient outcomes and a smaller disease burden for society.
About Livivos
Livivos is introducing its LiverScope®, an innovative, Point-of-Care liver disease diagnostic device that has the potential to revolutionize how the disorder is detected, graded, and managed. The LiverScope® offers liver disease diagnosis capabilities similar to MRI's in a compact, open, table-based form factor that can be set up in a clinical exam room and doesn't subject patients to claustrophobic environments or loud noises. Livivos is working to obtain FDA clearance so that the LiverScope® will be available to patients across the US, with a long-term goal of placing it in clinical environments world-wide.
For more information visit www.livivos.com.
About UC San Diego Health
UC San Diego Health, the region's only academic health system, is dedicated to delivering outstanding patient care through commitment to community, groundbreaking research and inspired teaching. Its specialty care for serious and complex conditions is consistently ranked among the nation's best by U.S. News & World Report and other organizations. The 808-bed academic health system includes UC San Diego Medical Center in Hillcrest and Jacobs Medical Center, Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center, Moores Cancer Center, Shiley Eye Institute, Koman Family Outpatient Pavilion and Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute, all in La Jolla, as well as primary care and same-day services at clinics throughout Southern California.
For more information, visit health.ucsd.edu.
Research described in this release is supported by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R43DK135225. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Claude Sirlin of UCSD serves as an advisor to Livivos, Inc. and holds stock in the company.
Contact Information:
Gayle Guy
Marketing Coordinator
gayle.guy@livivos.com
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