Premier subsidiary to go ahead with lung device

Premier Bionics (ASX:PBI) subsidiary Pulmosonix will continue with the development of its PulmoScreen device which measures lung damage following the successful completion of a proof-of-concept trial.

"We have proved the technology works and we would now like to turn it into a clinical device," said Pulmosonix chief technology officer John Petrou.

The 12-month trial was undertaken at The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, in collaboration with the Department of Allergy, Immunology and Respiratory Medicine.

"The proof-of-concept study successfully demonstrated that by measuring the differences in sound velocity we were able to determine which lung was normal and which was emphysematous -- in all cases," said Petrou.

Following the analysis of the results Pulmosonix has submitted an ethics application to the Alfred hospital for two clinical trials.

"We will now undertake six months of device refinement followed by two clinical trials over 12 months to validate the technology," he said.

"We will be grading the severity of disease against high resolution CAT scans and other lung function tests -- trying to match the results with current standards. We believe PulmoScreen is a much simpler, cheaper and non invasive method than the CAT scan.

"The second trial will determine if the PulmoScreen can diagnose the distribution of disease. It will involve patients with severe emphysema who will be having lung transplant surgery. The PulmoScreen results will be compared against results of a histological examination of the explanted lung."

Pulmosonix developed the functional prototype and funded the clinical trials through a Commonwealth government R&D Start grant and has applied for further funding assistance under the Commercial Ready grant scheme to support the second phase of product development and clinical trials.

The company will submit its results to the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand for the 2006 annual scientific meeting in Canberra in March 2006 and the American Thoracic Society annual congress in the USA in May.

Meanwhile, Pulmosonix is continuing clinical studies of its AirwayClear device for detecting apnoea in babies following delays with recruitment of suitable patients.