VisualSonics unveils ‘revolutionary’ Vevo LAZR imaging system

29-Mar-2011 - Last updated on 30-Mar-2011 at 10:57 GMT

VisualSonics, a high-resolution micro imaging systems manufacturer, has launched a new imaging system it claims will revolutionise cancer research.

The Toronto, Canada-based company - a subsidiary of SonoSite - said its Vevo LAZR Photoacoustics Imaging System ‘combines the sensitivity of optical imaging with the resolution and depth penetration of high frequency ultrasound,’ allowing researchers to study cancer in its earliest stages of progression and detect and evaluate tumour growth.

Anil Amlani, VisualSonics’s president and CEO, claimed the Vevo LAZR represented the future of pre-clinical research.

“Building on our high frequency ultrasound technology, which is now considered a gold standard for many in vivo applications,” he said, “the Vevo LAZR Photoacoustics system offers unique capability to non-invasively capture real-time high-resolution data that is unavailable and unparalleled to any other in vivo anatomical or molecular imaging technology.”

High-frequency

According to VisualSonics, the Vevo LAZR works by capturing high-resolution images – in both 2D and 3D modes - with high-frequency ultrasound. This function allows researchers to superimpose a photoacoustic signal over the ultrasound image to help assess oxygen saturation and blood levels in tissues and organs.

Furthermore, VisualSonics said the system includes an automated multispectral imaging algorithm, enabling researchers to select multiple imaging wavelengths in order to visualise contrast agents, such as nanoparticles and dyes.

The company said its new system could be used for lymph node imaging, study of haemoglobin and oxygen saturation, and targeted imaging of tumour biomarkers, but added that its usefulness was not confined to the study of cancer: the Vevo LAZR may benefit research into diabetes, neurosciences and reproductive biology.

Strong impact

“We believe that Vevo LAZR will have a strong impact on the discovery of new cancer therapies in the pre-clinical market space,” continued Amlani, “we will see a translation of these discoveries into practical applications in humans.”

Kevin Goodwin, president and CEO of Sonosite, said VisualSonics had already received a number of pre-orders for its new system, and that he expected demand to grow.

“We are excited that Sonosite and VisualSonics have joined forces to innovate and deliver new breakthrough imaging technologies and we are pleased with the initial customer demand for the new product.”