Arthrovision Intellectual Property

ArthroVision was the first to develop an MRI system capable of making reliable quantitative cartilage measurements of cartilage loss attributable to disease in human and veterinary patients. This development has had a broad impact on the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of arthritis. To clinicians, it provides for a rapid and precise diagnosis and a highly sensitive follow-up. Moreover, to researchers, it is a rapid, powerful, and cost-effective tool in the evaluation of therapies and preventative measures.

Since its initial breakthrough, ArthroVision has maintained an ongoing commitment to research and development. Corresponding dedication to securing intellectual property protection for the fruits of this work has been improved. To this end, ArthroVision has filed several patent applications for its systems, methods and technology. While some filed patents are pending, major ones have already been granted.

Patent no. 6,560,476 entitled "Evaluating Disease Progression Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging" was filed in May 2003 and accepted in January 2004. This initial patent broadly claims a number of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems and methods for monitoring disease progression. Furthermore, two extensions to this patent have been filed to provide a protection of ArthroVision’s increasing intellectual property. The subject matter of this initial patent is also the basis for applications on file in Europe (application no. EP1230561) and in Canada (application no. CA2427590). ArthroVision is working aggressively toward their acceptance.


	Abstract:	An orthopedic magnetic resonance imaging system is disclosed. This system includes a source of magnetic resonance imaging data sets resulting from successive magnetic resonance imaging acquisitions from a diseased joint of a patient. A segmentation module segments surfaces in the joint based on information contained within at least one of the data sets, and a registration module spatially registers, in three dimensions, information represented by a first of the data sets with respect to information represented by one or more further data sets for the same patient. A comparison module detects differences between information represented by the data sets caused by progression of the disease in the joint of the patient between acquisitions. A cross-patient comparison module can compare detected differences for the patient with detected differences for at least one other patient.

A second major patent application entitled "Non-Invasive Joint Evaluation" was filed in June 2004 at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. This application supports a system that provides an individual joint disease diagnostic tool relying on a joint disease model elaborated from a huge data set.


	Abstract:	Disclosed, in one general aspect, is a musculoskeletal imaging system that includes a source of feature data extracted from imaging data resulting from imaging acquisitions from joints of different individuals affected by different diseases. This feature data includes disease characteristic categorization information for a plurality of disease categories. A comparison module is operative to compare patient imaging data resulting from an imaging acquisition from a joint of a patient with the feature data. The comparison module is also operative to provide at least one categorization indicator for the patient imaging data that indicates a correspondence between spatial information in the patient imaging data and the disease categories for which there is extracted categorization information in the feature data.

A patent entitled “Evaluation of Cartilage of the Hip using MR Images” was filed in July 2007 at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (published PCT Application no. WO2008009124). As initially claimed by the knee patent, the system claimed by this patent allows the quantitative assessment of cartilage thickness and volume of the hip, independently for the femoral head and for the acetabulum. Furthermore, this technology allows follow-up analysis of the evolution in time of the cartilage thickness and volume between visits.


	Abstract:	This patent includes the description of an MRI system designed to specifically handle difficulties due to partial volume in MRI images. This patent describes step-by-step the data processing in order to optimize the measurements performed in each image aiming at the 3D analysis. Finally, this patent claims the outcomes in terms of thickness and volume of cartilage.

ArthroVision is committed to continue to develop innovative tools for the evaluation and the measurement of cartilage, and to aggressively pursue intellectual property protection for these tools.

The use of MRI for creating and comparing 3D models of a surface is now well known. Being the subject of numerous scientific papers over many years, related specific techniques are now considered part of the public domain. The United States Patent and Trademark Office however recognizes and acknowledges new discoveries consisting of original systems and methods that pave the way for innovative applications. ArthroVision’s U.S. patent falls along these lines, as it formally recognizes that, almost 5 years ago, Dr. Jean-Pierre Pelletier as well as Dr. Johanne Martel-Pelletier and their collaborators at ArthroVision have not only foreseen the potential use of a MRI-based system for evaluating disease progression in clinical trials, but have already developed, used on a regular basis, and demonstrated the relevance of such a system, by including preliminary clinical results obtained from a patient cohort engaged in a formal clinical trial in their patent application.

In order to adequately understand the scope of ArthroVision’s patent, it is essential to review the components of a MRI-based system for evaluating disease progression:

MRI images of the joint of the patient acquired at successive time points from any standard magnetic resonance imager,

A segmentation module that delineates from the MR images, using image processing operations, the outline of cartilage and bone, from which 3D representations of cartilage and bone surfaces are created,

A registration module that brings 3D models into the same coordinate system; this is required to compensate for variations in the joint position inside the imager at different times,

A comparison module that detects differences in cartilage surfaces of the same patient at different times; these differences are generally attributed to disease progression,

A cross-patient comparison module that compares differences obtained from the comparison module, between at least two patients.