Open Competition 4 - Information Technology

Novel Low-Cost Techniques for Diagnosis and Management of Patients with Osteoporosis

Sponsor: Imaging Therapeutics , Inc. (formerly OsteoNet.com, Inc.)

• Project Performance Period: 6/1/2002 - 11/22/2007
• Total project (est.): $2,756,706.00
• Requested ATP funds: $1,997,613.00

Osteoporosis is a condition involving loss of bone strength. It is a major health threat for 25 million post-menopausal American women and 7 million men, and is blamed for more than 1.5 million fractures annually. Direct expenditures for this condition and related fractures are about $13 billion annually. As the population ages, these costs are projected to reach $210 billion or more annually by 2040 unless something is done. Fewer than 20 percent of those afflicted know that they have the disease, and even fewer receive therapy, in part because of the high costs and inconvenience of existing tests. To address this problem, OsteoNet plans to develop and test technology for low-cost bone micro-architecture analysis using new network-based algorithms for instant feedback of results and interpretations. Oral bones are an ideal site for detecting osteoporosis because of the high percentage of trabecular bone -- it is this type of bone where the earliest bone loss occurs. This ATP project will enable measurements of alterations in bone micro-architecture that cannot be measured by existing methods and that account for a high percentage of fracture risk in osteoporosis. The company will develop new techniques to assess bone microarchitecture in the mandible based on data transmitted by patient caregivers over computer networks for rapid analysis and response. The proposed techniques will require significant advances in the state of the art of medical imaging and represent much of the technical risk. ATP support will enable OsteoNet to accelerate the research by several years. OsteoNet will make use of statistical expertise provided by Tulane University (New Orleans, La.) and medical imaging expertise from Harvard Medical School (Boston, Mass.) If successful, the technology will reduce health care costs by enabling early detection of osteoporosis, and also could be useful for determining the effectiveness of new therapies for osteoporosis. The pervasiveness of networked services will ensure that a large percentage of the population will have access to the test.

For project information:

Dr. Barry J. Linder, (650) 286-4151
barry.linder@osteonet.com

ATP Project Manager

Barbara Cuthill, (301) 975-3273
barbara.cuthill@nist.gov