Disior enters into a strategic partnership with the University of Iowa Orthopedic Functional Imaging Research Laboratory (OFIRL) to introduce automated medical imaging software for Orthopedics in the USA

Disior Bonelogic® has the potential to revolutionize the diagnosis and treatment of patients suffering common extremity injuries and diseases.

Following our announcement last week that Bonelogic has received FDA 510k clearance. Today Disior can proudly announce that it has entered into a strategic partnership with the Orthopedic Functional Imaging Research Laboratory (OFIRL) team at the Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation of the University of Iowa, Healthcare.  

This collaborative endeavor will focus on the benefits of 3D imaging and especially the innovations and clinical importance of automated medical image analysis for extremity orthopedics. Orthopedic surgeon Dr Cesar de Cesar Netto MD, Ph.D., will be the principal investigator from the University of Iowa Health Care side of this strategic partnership.

FDA 510(k) clearance announcement

Dr Cesar de Cesar Netto, MD, Ph.D

Dr. Cesar de Cesar Netto is a renowned orthopedic foot and ankle surgeon who pushes for innovation within his chosen field. As director of the OFIRL, he and his group at the University of Iowa Health Care use advanced imaging techniques (particularly weight-bearing computed tomography-WBCT) to describe and treat for example progressive collapsing foot deformity, also known as flatfoot. To Dr de Cesar Netto “the foot is a complex biomechanical masterpiece”. Understanding the three-dimensional relationship of thirty different bones is extremely challenging, especially in the setting of complex deformities such as cavovarus and progressive collapsing foot deformities. Weight-bearing CT imaging has unveiled details of alignment and relative positioning of tarsal bones but has brought additional challenges e.g. bone segmentation and 3D orientation assessment.

“Disior and the Disior Bonelogic software allow us to perform quick and automatic bone segmentation, as well as provided us with a thorough assessment of the relationship and three-dimensional orientation of the tarsal bones. It is a game-changer and will become the standard in the assessment and treatment of patients.”
- Dr de Cesar Netto

Image of the 3D model and results of a whole foot WBCT scan in Disior's Bonelogic, medical imaging software

Kevin Dibbern, Ph.D., Co-Director of the University of Iowa OFIRL had this to say about the state of play within the field and the advantages of this strategic partnership:

“A constant limitation in orthopedic research is translating the results of complex 3D analyses to clinical practice. Since the advent of CT imaging, researchers have been segmenting and evaluating the 3D nature of boney deformities and positioning. However, the time-consuming nature of the segmentation process has led to a gulf between the detailed findings published in the literature and the methods used to evaluate patients. Disior Bonelogic software bridges that gap by automating the segmentation step and bringing true 3D analyses to the clinic for the first time. As a researcher, I am continually impressed by the breadth of images able to be seamlessly analyzed in the Bonelogic software with poor bone quality, substantial deformities, and even metal artifacts. These tools have expanded our research capabilities and enabled studies that would traditionally take months or years to be performed in hours or days. ”

"Disior Bonelogic is simultaneously advancing research and everyday care in ways that were never before possible." - Dr Dibbern

Iowa Team, photo courtesy of Dr Dibbern

Example of automated 3D analysis results possible in Bonelogic

Iowa Team in action, photo courtesy of Dr Dibbern

Collaborative research is at the heart of the development process at Disior. Partnerships with Finnish and European Hospitals and Universities have proved extremely beneficial to the development of our products. For example, testing and defining clinically relevant measurements that describe the hand and wrist, the other extremity currently covered by the Bonelogic software.

To Disior CEO Anna-Maria Henell, the strategic partnership with the University of Iowa’s OFIRL means that “we can work closely with a world-class team of experts to fine-tune our 3D medical imaging software, Bonelogic, for clinical practice in the USA. This collaboration will also allow us to quantify the benefits of the software for research and clinical practice. We aim to reduce the work-load of clinicians and to advance understanding of complex 3D anatomies so that patients get the right treatment every time, this partnership will help us achieve this goal.”

Disior CEO Anna-Maria Henell

If you're interested in discussing research projects, collaborations or are just intrigued to see what role Disior's innovative medical imaging software can play in your clinic or research group contact us.

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