- Houston We Have (HWH) spikes on the ASX today after announcing an upcoming clinical trial of its newly bought ECHOiQ technology
- The tech is designed to detect a patient’s risk of a heart valve condition known as aortic stenosis (AS)
- The clinical trial will test the ECHOiQ tech’s ability to identify AS patients at risk of mortality and compare the results with conventional diagnostic methods
- The trial will be fully funded by Edwards Lifesciences: a New York Stock Exchange-listed meditech stock specialising in replacement heart valves
- Shares in Houston We Have close 14.81 per cent higher at 16 cents each
Houston We Have (HWH) has spiked on the ASX today after announcing an upcoming clinical trial of its newly bought ECHOiQ technology.
The artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics specialist said the clinical trial will be fully funded by Edwards Lifesciences: a New York Stock Exchange-listed meditech stock specialising in replacement heart valves.
The ECHOiQ tech is designed to detect a patient’s risk of a heart valve condition known as aortic stenosis (AS).
The upcoming clinical trial will evaluate the performance of the ECHOiQ Enhanced Screening Program (ESP) in identifying patients with AS who are at risk of mortality. The trial will also determine the likelihood of the ESP tech to detect such risks compared to conventional clinical imaging.
Houston We Have Chairman Andrew Grover said the clinical trial is a key step in validating and confirming the performance of the unique AI technology, which has the potential to improve patient health outcomes across the cardiovascular disease market.
“Funding the trial is the world’s leading manufacturer of replacement aortic valves, an industry sector which is a key focus for the company,” Mr Grover said.
He said the trial will be conducted in partnership with the National Echo Database of Australia (NEDA), through which HWH has access to one of the largest echocardiogram databases in the world.
“This access means we are able to develop enhanced algorithms and diagnostic capability across a number of cardiology related indications where we believe we have the potential to significantly improve the effectiveness of traditional diagnosis protocols.”
As it works to kick off the clinical trial, HWH said it had appointed MedTech as regulatory consultants for potential US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the ECHOiQ tech.
At the same time, Houston We Have said it had recently appointed a patent attorney to ensure the ECHOiQ intellectual property is appropriately protected.
What does the ECHOiQ tech do?
Houston We Have gained access to the ECHOiQ tech when it finalised the purchase of the tech’s namesake company in mid-July.
The company uses a mixture of echocardiographic measurements and machine learning to predict the probability of AS in patients.
Where the tech differs from conventional detection methods is that it does not rely on left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) obstruction measurement.
HWH claims there is an “increasing body of research” that shows a significant number of patients with treatable forms of heart diseases are not detected by current traditional protocols.
In fact, a recent paper released by the Baker Institute showed that of the roughly 500,000 Australians living with heart valve diseases, half of them are unaware of their condition.
Given many forms of heart valve diseases are treatable with relatively non-invasive and economically viable methods, the ECHOiQ tech is designed to better predict and diagnose potential heart valve conditions.
Shares in Houston We Have closed 14.81 per cent higher this afternoon at 16 cents each. The company has a $58 million market cap.