4DMedical jumps 30% as US veteran lung damage trial proves non-surgical detection tech

4DMedical’s (ASX:4DX) share price has jumped over 30% in mid-afternoon trades as the company reports success in being the first company able to diagnose Constrictive Bronchiolitis (CB) without surgery. 

The feat has been pulled off using the company’s patent ‘XV’ technology, which uses multiple X-Ray images to create an animated model of the lungs during both inhalation and exhalation. 

CB is a condition where the flesh and tissue of the lungs become permanently or chronically inflamed, and typically occurs with fibrosis, where scar tissue accumulates in interior airways, reducing total oxygen intake capacity. 

Leading research informs trial

The company today reports success in detecting CB using its XV tech where traditional imaging protocols failed to detect the condition, including CT Scans and other tests. 

The big takeaway?: over 99% certainty in correct diagnosis, based on the results of this trial. 

4DMedical’s study exclusively focused on US veterans (more on that below) at the Vanderbilt University Medical Centre in Tennessee’s Nashville. 

Research by Dr. Robert Miller, a professor of Allergy, Pulmonary, and Critical Care at Vanderbilt, informed 4DMedical’s study; Dr. Bradley Richmond MD acted as principal investigator. 

“We see many veterans who have lung biopsies showing significant damage, but traditional non-invasive testing appears normal,” Dr. Richmond said. 

“We are hopeful 4DMedical’s technology can help us diagnose lung disease in these veterans without the need for a biopsy.” 

XV solution means patients don’t need ribs cut open 

Historically, the only way to detect CB beyond doubt was to surgically assess the lungs, a practice which requires the cutting open of the ribcage. 

This practice often causes life-long nerve damage and long-term discomfort in recovery requiring long regimens of pain medication, which in turn hosts its own risks. 

The commercial implications of a non-invasive diagnostic pathway capable of using traditional X-Ray machines are obvious for the company; supported by the evident bullish sentiment inspiring 4DMedical shareholders today. 

Condition disproportionately affects US Veterans 

While CB may be rare relative to other lung conditions, there is one demographic where the condition is disproportionately common: US Veterans. Particularly, those returned from recent tours in the Middle East (read: Iraq and Afghanistan.) 

The company notes the US Department of Defence frequently utilised ‘burn pits’ during its occupation of Afghanistan, where waste was openly burned in large pits using jet fuel as accelerant. 

Many soldiers were ordered to operate the pits, and many of those soldiers returned home with CB. A wide range of waste was burned in the pits, including tyres, chemicals, fabrics and construction materials; human and animal waste, and medical waste. 

US PACT Act comes at right time 

Worth noting: the US Senate Veterans Affairs Committee has specifically cited 4DMedical’s XV technology in the last few months, as the US launches a new spending package to assist veterans exposed to airborne hazards. 

Some 3.5m veterans exposed to burn pit toxins and associated risks are now the collective target of USD$280bn in healthcare funding commitments over the next decade. 

That funding commitment was passed in Biden’s Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act. You can read more about it on the US Veteran Affairs website here. 

Should government contracts adopt 4Dmedical’s XV tech as the go-to solution for diagnosing CB (a critical part of compensation and care packages,) the company stands to rake in serious revenue. 

“With the passage of the PACT Act, it is imperative clinicians be able to rapidly  and effectively screen large numbers of veterans safely,” 4DMedical CEO Andreas Fouras said. 

“XV Technology clearly has the potential to differentiate between healthy and diseased lungs related to overseas deployment.”        

A look at the company's six month charts