Optiscan Imaging (ASX: OIL) says its latest financial results are just the tip of the iceberg, confident a stronger staff presence in the lucrative United States health market will soon reap the rewards for its revolutionary medical devices.
The company says its interest in its “ViewnVivo” life sciences product is steadily growing since it established a business development team in the US last October. While Optiscan’s latest quarterly results this week revealed just $27,000 in customer receipts – understood to be from a major, but unnamed, medical institution for the ViewnVivo device – it is adamant it is just the start of a promising money story.
It ended the quarter with cash and equivalents of $7.12 million, which was buoyed by a tax incentive rebate of $672,000. Management says the figures leaves it well-placed to pursue its mission with its patented conformal endomicroscopy.
The company’s patented imaging technology houses miniaturised componentry to create a pen-sized digital microscope that offers the power of real-time 3D single-cell imaging – all in the palm of the operator’s hand.
Our strategy of putting boots on the ground in the US for the sale of ViewnVivo is starting to pay off as the pipeline for the it is increasing due to the increased activities of its business development team. The number of high-quality leads they are generating is very positive and I am reassured these will translate into sales over the next 6 to12-month period.
Optiscan Imaging chief executive officer Camile Farah
The company is also set to pocket $3 million from the Federal Government in the next three years to accelerate its product development following a successful Cooperative Research Centres Project grant application. Planned developments will include the integration of AI into its products, which it expects to enhance and improve user diagnoses and patient outcomes.
Optiscan has also established a new regional office in Minnesota to position itself at the US centre for medical technology development and use.
Dr Farah said the company was putting its 2024 focus on delivering on its hardware and software commitments through the launch of surgical and pathology devices and the completion of its cloud-based telepathology platform. It also planned to continue to strengthen its position in the US medtech ecosystem, with strategic partnerships and collaborations it believes will accelerate the pathway to market.
Optiscan’s key technological developments include a second new device designed for intraoperative surgical use, which is close to completion. Management says that while it is slated for initial use in open breast cancer surgery, it is also exploring alternative surgical deployments.
The company has also picked up the pace on development of its third clinical device that is designed specifically for diagnostic pathology as a digital replacement to the more commonly employed frozen thin-section and conventional microscopy in pathology studies and diagnoses.
In addition to other significant progress in hardware development, Optiscan has advanced its cloud-based telepathology platform on schedule. Management says the next phase of the project – developing what it calls “a minimum viable product” – is expected to begin mid-year, with its other clinical products being designed for future integration with the telepathology portal.
In concert with its many other ongoing research and product refinements, the company says its business development, sales and marketing mission continues to advance in the US, China and Europe, with a specific focus on Germany and Switzerland.
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