Biometrica MS Launched at ECTRIMS 2015 to Support Routine Multiple Sclerosis Care

Biometrica MS, a technology that provides an easy to use service for neurologists to quantify lesion load as well as brain volume measures in clinical practice, is a web-based image analysis tool that was recently launched at the 31st Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS), a conference that is being held this week in Barcelona, Spain (October 7 – 10, 2015).

A variety of clinical information including cut-off points, as established by data from phase II and III studies, can be applied to Biometrica MS® to benefit the assessment of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) in routine care.

MS is a chronic, persistent inflammatory-demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS), typically characterized by focal areas of white matter demyelination and inflammation, and significant brain atrophy, a measure of the most destructive pathological process occurring in MS. Brain atrophy is detected from the earliest stages of MS, and leads to irreversible neurological and cognitive impairment.

Brain volume loss in MS is measured with the use of magnetic resonance (MR), a technology that processes images with advanced computer tools and requires rigorous quality control on each level: MRI protocol definition, data acquisition, image pre- and post-processing and data management.

Until recently, brain volume loss quantification could only be rigorously assessed in specific settings like clinical studies. Biometrica MS was developed by jung diagnostics, a company that offers centralized image analysis services to support routine clinical workup, in partnership with Prof. Sven Schippling and colleagues at the University of Zurich.

Prof. Sven Schippling emphasized in a press release,  “Assessment of the individual level of brain volume has the potential to add important information on the neurodegenerative component of the disease. Once assessed reliably it might in the future assist in individual patient monitoring.”

Dr. Lothar Spies, managing director of jung diagnostics, further added: “Tremendous effort has been spent to ensure that brain volume loss is measured reliably and robustly. We know from our own experience over the past years that providing such a service to clinical routine is not trivial. It requires constant adherence to strict quality measures.”