Melbourne-based respiratory imaging company 4DMedical has renewed a three-year contract with the University of Michigan Medical Center, a top-tier academic medical centre in the United States, to provide access to its suite of structural lung analysis technologies.
The agreement, valued at approximately AUD 155,000, will run from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2028, the company said in an ASX announcement.
Under the renewed agreement, clinicians and researchers at the University of Michigan will continue to use 4DMedical’s full range of structural lung imaging applications via the company’s Enterprise Core Computing Platform.
These include CT Lung Density Analysis for both inspiration (LDAi) and functional imaging (LDAf), Pulmonary Hypertension Analysis (PHA), and investigational access to Lung Texture Analysis (LTA), pending FDA clearance.
4DMedical said the contract renewal reflects ongoing confidence in its platform’s ability to assist with the diagnosis and monitoring of pulmonary conditions.
“The University of Michigan is a valued partner, and we are delighted to extend that relationship through this renewal,” said 4DMedical MD/CEO and founder Andreas Fouras.
“Their ongoing commitment to our technology reflects the trust major institutions place in 4DMedical’s solutions and their recognition of the clinical value delivered through scalable, automated lung analysis.”
The announcement comes on the heels of new clinical research published in the Respiratory Research journal in July, which further validates 4DMedical’s proprietary X-ray Velocimetry (XV) technology.
The multicentre study involved researchers from Vanderbilt University, Johns Hopkins, the University of Miami, and Melbourne’s Alfred Hospital, who examined the technology’s effectiveness in identifying respiratory conditions that typically elude standard diagnostics.
The study showed that 4DMedical’s XV LVAS® software, which generates region-specific maps of lung ventilation, could detect early signs of small airways disease even when traditional methods such as spirometry and CT scans show normal results.
Researchers reported that the software’s ability to differentiate between chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and deployment-related constrictive bronchiolitis (DR-CB) could significantly improve patient care.
“We’re now able to see the invisible,” said Dr. Bradley Richmond of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, co-lead of the study.
“XV Technology® gives us a window into parts of the lung we’ve never been able to assess so precisely before. It could transform care for patients whose symptoms were previously a mystery.”
In a further development, 4DMedical has been awarded AUD$1.1 million in non-dilutive funding through Round 1 of Australia’s Economic Accelerator (AEA) Innovate grant program.
Led by the University of Adelaide and in partnership with the University of Melbourne and the Australian Institute for Machine Learning, the project will use 4DMedical’s XV Technology to develop AI-derived functional biomarkers to improve respiratory disease diagnosis.
“These investments allow our world-class universities and researchers to work on game-changing projects that are good for our economy and good for Australia,” said Minister for Education Jason Clare. “This is a strategic investment that will help to deliver the solutions we need for the challenges ahead.”
Fouras said the grant would help accelerate global access to the company’s technologies. “The AEA grant delivers powerful, non-dilutive leverage on our current R&D investment and accelerates our progress. This grant is a big win for making our technology more accessible and impactful globally,” he said.
