Thirona, Pulmonx Extend Strategic Partnership

Thirona and Pulmonx are staying together—for business purposes, anyway.

The two companies are extending their long-running strategic partnership to develop and commercialize solutions that help clinicians diagnose and treat emphysema patients through the Pulmonx StratX Lung Analysis Platform. StratX is a cloud-based quantitative CT analysis service that supports Zephyr Endobronchial Valve patient selection and treatment targeting by providing information on emphysema destruction, fissure completeness, and lobar volumes. Zephyr Endobronchial Valve treatment is the most studied endobronchial valve and is clinically proven to improve patients’ lung function, exercise capacity and quality of life.^1-3
 
The longstanding partnership has allowed Pulmonx to provide customers with StratX CT scan analysis that leverages both artificial intelligence and analyst review to inform treatment decisions for severe emphysema patients. Thirona’s LungQ artificial intelligence (AI) engine, performs automated analytics of clinical data from lung CT scans. The AI-based software enables precise identification and quantification of anatomical structures and disease-related abnormalities, in numerous lung and respiratory diseases. Thirona  solutions have been validated in more than 180 scientific publications and through analyzing in excess of 10 million imaging datasets.
 
“We believe that science should be used for the benefit of all people. LungQ is an ultimate demonstration of the value that artificial intelligence brings to precision medicine, allowing for much more effective and often lifesaving, personalized patient treatment. The partnership with Pulmonx is a great example of how our technology is enabling breakthroughs in treatment development and clinical care. We are very excited to continue working together,” said Eva van Rikxoort, founder and CEO of Thirona.
 
Based in The Netherlands, Thirona specializes in AI for lung image analysis that allows for precise quantification of disease symptoms and contributes to personalized patient treatment. Thirona partners with research institutions and medical companies in their innovation trajectories to enable breakthroughs in treatment development and clinical care. Solutions developed support medical professionals in their daily tasks working with thoracic CT-scans (LungQ), chest X-rays (CAD4TB) and retinal scans (RetCAD). Founded in 2014 by van Rikxoort, the company develops deep learning solutions for lung and retinal image analysis. Solutions developed by Thirona are installed in 45 countries worldwide.
 
References
¹ Criner, GJ, Sue, R, Wright, S, Dransfield, M, Rivas-Perez, H, Wiese, T & Morrissey, B. A multicenter randomized control trial of Zephyr endobronchial valve treatment in heterogeneous emphysema (LIBERATE). Am J Respir Crit Care Med, 2018;198(9), 1151-1164, and data on file at Pulmonx.
² Kemp, SV, Slebos, DJ, Kirk, A, Kornaszewska, M, Carron, K, Ek, L & Briault, A. A multicenter randomized controlled trial of Zephyr endobronchial valve treatment in heterogeneous emphysema (TRANSFORM). Am J Respir Crit Care Med, 2017;196(12), 1535-1543.
³ Valipour, A, Slebos, DJ, Herth, F, Darwiche, K, Wagner, M, Ficker, JH, & Eberhardt, R. Endobronchial valve therapy in patients with homogeneous emphysema. Results from the IMPACT study. Am J Respir Crit Care Med, 2016;194(9), 1073-1082, and data on file at Pulmonx.