Supported by private investors, a group of Johns Hopkins radiologists, biomedical engineers and cardiologists have formed a company, Surgi-Vision, to develop, manufacture and sell new devices for imaging the human heart, blood vessels and other organs. All of the company's technologies originated from research over the past four years by Hopkins scientists and biomedical engineers. All MRI units use coils as radio receivers that pick up signals from the body and transmit them to the MRI device to produce images.
Vision go inside the body to provide clearer, more localized images, say developers.
Better performance results because the coils can be positioned right next to the region of interest, rather than remote from it, as is the case with conventional coils. Other founders include Elias Zerhouni, M.D., chairman of the Hopkins Department of Radiology, Ergin Atalar, Ph.D., assistant professor of radiology, and Ogan Ocali, M.D., former Hopkins research radiologist. Instrumental in developing Surgi-Vision were Bart Chernow, M.D., vice dean for research and technology and corporate relations, and Howard Califano, JD, assistant dean for technology licensing. In addition to helping diagnose cardiovascular conditions, this technology could be used to monitor the progress of treatments for heart and vascular diseases. The quantum jump in sensitivity in the region around the Surgi-Vision probe will give the physician online, minimally invasive vision beyond the boundaries now encountered with optical imaging techniques.