Partnership will bring Brainomix AI-powered tool to US centers
Companies aim to accelerate PF diagnosis, improve treatment with e-Lung
Brainomix, a U.K.-based software company, has joined forces with Boehringer Ingelheim, a German pharmaceutical company, to accelerate the diagnosis of pulmonary fibrosis (PF) in the U.S. and improve treatment access for people with scarring of the lungs.
As part of the collaboration, Brainomix’s artificial intelligence (AI)-powered tool, called Brainomix 360 e-Lung, will be available across lead U.S. pulmonology centers and their networks to analyze lung scarring, medically known as fibrosis, in routine CT imaging scans. This follows e-Lung’s clearance by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in May.
“There is an urgent need to improve the identification of people with fibrosing lung disease,” Michalis Papadakis, PhD, Brainomix’s CEO and cofounder, said in a company press release.
Using this AI-powered tool “will enable earlier access to specialist care and the opportunity for faster initiation of treatment, which can slow the worsening of the disease,” Papadakis said, adding that “the patient pathway for people with fibrosing lung disease is currently fragmented and … it can take many years for a patient to be diagnosed.”
PF, a type of interstitial lung disease (ILD), is marked by the excessive buildup of scar tissue in the lungs. Its diagnosis is usually based on lung function tests and CT scans of the lungs. However, imaging analysis, especially in the disease’s earlier stages, is challenging.
The development of e-Lung entailed using large amounts of clinical data to train a computer-based algorithm to recognize specific disease-associated patterns. The computer then learns from the data, aiding clinicians to conduct faster and likely more accurate diagnoses.
e-Lung use in US will provide real-world evidence on AI-powered tool
Brainomix 360 e-Lung includes biomarkers of lung alterations linked to scarring, namely the weighted reticulovascular score (WRVS). The WRVS quantifies the extent of the lung affected by reticulovascular abnormalities, which are a combination of opacities and blood vessel alterations.
“At Boehringer Ingelheim, we know how critical early and confident detection of progression is for people living with fibrosing lung disease,” said Ioannis Sapountzis, head of global therapeutic areas at Boehringer Ingelheim. “We believe that Brainomix 360 e-Lung has the potential to revolutionize the diagnostic landscape and thereby enable earlier treatment decisions at a pivotal stage of the patient’s journey. This can ultimately improve patient outcomes and quality of life of those affected.”
Brainomix presented data from a series of studies at the 2024 American Thoracic Society Conference, held in May in San Diego, supporting the prognostic value of e-Lung.
We believe that Brainomix 360 e-Lung has the potential to revolutionize the diagnostic landscape and thereby enable earlier treatment decisions at a pivotal stage of the patient’s journey. This can ultimately improve patient outcomes and quality of life of those affected.
The company said this new project will help in assessing the impact of the Brainomix e-Lung imaging software in the real world.
“This partnership enables us to leverage our established experience and expertise connecting stroke networks to develop a similar network model of care for patients with fibrosing lung disease, generating real-world evidence that will drive the opportunities we have with e-Lung to help improve outcomes for patients and their families,” Papadakis said.
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