Sydney-based medical device start-up Vexev has spent the past two years in stealth mode, and now we know why. It has produced what it claims to be the world’s first tomographic ultrasound robot (TUR) to make diagnostics more affordable, accessible, efficient, and insightful.
The primary diagnosis method for cardiovascular disease is 2D ultrasound operated by a human sonographer. While 2D ultrasound is one of the most reasonably priced imaging diagnostic modalities and doesn’t involve harmful radiation to the patient, it still has many limitations –inconsistency, affordability, and can only make 2D scans.
In addition, qualified sonographers are also increasingly in short demand, and their careers are often shortened by RSI (repetitive strain injury) due to years of manually operating 2D ultrasound machines.
In contrast, Vexev’s technology is designed to automate the entire ultrasound process, alleviating pressure from the sonographers. Aside from boosting the efficiency and quality consistency of 2D ultrasound, the TUR aims to improve diagnostics by creating 3D tomographic ultrasound outputs.
Therefore, clinical locations where 2D ultrasound was previously uneconomical, like district clinics and dialysis clinics, can now adopt an affordable and reliable imaging diagnostics technology.
With the TUR, sonographers can:
- Produce 3D diagnostic outputs like CT scan and MRI radiographers
- Complete more scans daily
- No longer suffer from RSI
Matt Adams, senior vascular sonographer, said:
Vexev’s device has the potential to evolve the role of Vascular Sonographers, minimizing low-skill, high volume aspects of typical workflow. It may also assist in combating the well-documented shortage of skilled Vascular Sonographers in the workforce and the high incidence of repetitive strain disorder.
With extra time on their hands, this highly skilled group of healthcare professionals may have the chance to expand their scope of practice – whether that be in education, research, or therapeutic intervention.
Vexev was co-founded by Dr. Eamonn Colley and Dr. John Carroll in 2018 after completing their PhDs at the UNSW (University of New South Wales). During their research, Colley and Carroll noticed that the current approach to monitoring vascular accesses – the catheter in which kidney failure patients receive life-saving hemodialysis treatments – was via manual ‘feel, listen and look’ methods that were inconsistent and ineffective.
This led the duo to realize that present diagnostic imaging capabilities are inaccessible and far too expensive for many clinical settings. So, the co-founders became fascinated at the prospect of developing a device as affordable as 2D ultrasound, but that produced 3D scans similar to an MRI or CT scan.
This concept caught the attention of Australia’s leading VC, Blackbird Ventures, who ran Vexev’s initial investments. “For value-based healthcare models to reach their full potential, we will need diagnostic technologies that are as powerful as MRIs but more affordable than 2D ultrasound. Vexev’s device achieves this, and it is exciting to see them reshaping what’s possible in this industry,” explained Blackbird Ventures principal, Michael Tolo, who holds a board seat.
The TUR will be tested in upcoming trials at Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs Vascular Imaging, located at the Prince of Wales Hospital campus. Australian vascular surgeons support the trials, including Dr. Andrew Lennox, A/Prof Ramon Varcoe, Dr. Tom Daly, and Dr. Shannon Thomas.
