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- Medtech company Uscom (UCM) has had its ultrasound technology included in a new set of global guidelines for treating sepsis in children
- The guidelines were put together by the Society of Critical Care Medicine and two other organisations
- However, the USCOM 1A product was never directly mentioned in the guidelines
- Nevertheless, Uscom CEO Professor Rob Phillips told The Market Herald that the product is the only one of its kind — meaning guideline references to the technology are a direct endorsement of Uscom’s tech
- Regardless, investors seem pleased with today’s news despite the exclusions of Uscom’s brand in the guidelines
- Shares in Uscom gained over five per cent today and closed worth 28 cents each
Medtech company Uscom (UCM) has had its ultrasound technology recognised by the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) for treating severe sepsis in children.
New guidelines have been put together by the SCCM after reviewing two decades’ worth of worldwide literature alongside the European Society for Intensive Care Medicine and the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies. According to Uscom, the USCOM 1A product has been included in these guidelines.
Further, with 52 authors from over 10 countries, the guidelines are a well-supported document for any medical professionals or organisations dealing with sepsis in children. Sepsis is a severe condition of an infection that can often be life-threatening.
According to Uscom, a number of the authors are users of USCOM 1A, which is the company’s blood-monitoring ultrasound tech. The non-invasive technology works by using sound waves to show blood flow and monitor issues like sepsis accordingly.
Carefully indirect inclusion
Interestingly, however, neither Uscom nor the USCOM 1A product appears directly in the SCCM guidelines. While the guidelines refer to advanced haemodynamic monitoring, advanced monitoring, or hemodynamic variables — which is what USCOM 1A was designed for — the product is never strictly mentioned.
Uscom Founder and CEO Professor Rob Phillips told The Market Herald that guidelines such as the one put together by the SCCM are “meticulously non-partisan’ in nature and never mentioned companies or products by name.
“Nobody ever mentions Uscom product, or any other product, directly. What they do is they say ‘ultrasonic Doppler monitor’,” Rob explained.
As such, the lack of Uscom’s name does not mean the product is not endorsed.
Nor does it mean that by mentioning the type of technology rather than the USCOM 1A product itself the guidelines are endorsing Uscom competitors; according to Rob, there are no competitors.
Patent protected
“There are no registered alternative Doppler monitors or any non-registered non-invasive doppler monitors that the company knows of,” he said.
Further, the company’s tech is patented, meaning any alternative technology would be an intellectual property breach. Thus, the SCCM guidelines referring to “suprasternal Dopplers” are, in fact, referring to USCOM 1A.
“This SCCM guideline recognises the effectiveness of our USCOM 1A in the diagnosis and treatment of the life-threatening complications of serious infections at a time of increasing global risk,” Rob told shareholders today.
The same goes for the company report from two weeks ago where USCOM 1A was recommended for the treatment of children who have contracted the Covid-19 coronavirus in Hubei.
While the omission of the Uscom name from the SCCM and Hubei guidelines might not help get the company’s brand as far as it could, shareholders seemed happy with the endorsement of the technology.
Shares in Uscom gained another 5.56 per cent today after spiking off of the coronavirus update in mid-February. Since the start of 2020, Uscom shares have gained 137.5 per cent and closed today worth 28 cents each.
