The National Cancer Institute Awards Inneroptic A Grant To Fuse Ct Data With Real-Time Ultrasound Imagery
Posted: 05-18-2009 : HILSBOROUGH, N.C.

Hillsborough, NC – InnerOptic has been awarded a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Cancer Institute. The objective of the grant is to integrate pre-operative CT data with real-time ultrasound imagery in order to provide accurate needle guidance visualization that will measurably improve the clinical efficacy of hepatic tumor ablation.

With this substantial award, InnerOptic will enhance the InVision System’s visualization by integrating pre-operative data, such as computed tomography (CT), with real-time ultrasound imagery. The pre-operative data will be warped in real time to reflect physical motion and changes to the anatomy, due to breathing, patient movement and the inevitable repositioning of soft-tissue organs during the intervention. In this way, the complementary information about the anatomy provided by each modality can be used together by the physician with the ultrasound as s/he performs the operation.

In collaboration with physicians at the Carolinas Medical Center (CMC), this project will develop enhancements to the InVision Systems’ needle guidance visualization and assess the clinical utility of these enhancements through case studies.

“InnerOptic is pleased to receive this grant from the NIH, validating our strategy to support multiple imaging modalities for our 3D visualization for needle guidance,” said Brian Heaney, InnerOptic’s CEO. “We look forward to working with the leading surgeons of CMC to develop and test the prototype system.”

About InnerOptic Technology, Inc.
InnerOptic was founded in 2003 to commercialize the patented medical visualization technology developed by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. InnerOptic is revolutionizing image-guided procedures with its InnerOptic’s InVision™ System, a “GPS for the surgeon” that improves a physician’s ability to accurately perform complex minimally invasive procedures with intra-operative ultrasound. A privately held company, InnerOptic is headquartered in Hillsborough, NC. For more information, please visit http://www.inneroptic.com/.

National Institute of Health Acknowledgement and Disclaimer The project described was supported by Award Number R43CA143234 from the National Cancer Institute. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Cancer Institute or the National Institutes of Health.

Contact: Brian Heaney, InnerOptic Technology, Inc, 919-732-2090, brian@inneroptic.com