Study will evaluate how raw signals from tens of thousands of WatchPAT recordings conducted over the last 10 years in combination with health medical records can be leveraged to predict cardiovascular outcomes
CAESAREA, Israel, March 02, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Itamar Medical Ltd. (Nasdaq: ITMR) (TASE: ITMR), a medical technology company focused on the development and commercialization of non-invasive medical devices to aid in the diagnosis of respiratory sleep disorders, today announced that it has entered into a research collaboration agreement with Clalit Research Institute (CRI), a subsidiary of Clalit Health Services (CHS), Israel’s largest state-mandated health service organization.
Under the agreement, Itamar and CRI will collaborate to conduct a study designed to determine if data from the WatchPAT signal can help predict cardiovascular health outcomes. The study will use artificial intelligence tools to compare predictive models for different outcomes, such as cardiovascular disease, atrial fibrillation, congestive heart failure and other outcomes. Approximately 50,000 patients within the CHS network have undergone WatchPAT testing over the past 10 years. As a state-mandated health services organization, CRI has access to comprehensive patient health medical records and demographic and longitudinal follow-up data going back 20 years for most of these patients with WatchPAT data.
“The association between sleep-disordered breathing and serious health outcomes is well documented, yet data typically collected from overnight sleep studies are summarized into a small number of reported metrics,” said Gilad Glick, President and Chief Executive Officer of Itamar Medical. “We believe that the data contained in the WatchPAT raw signal recorded over the entire night has tremendous potential not only to aid in the diagnosis of sleep apnea and help phenotype patients, but also to predict serious cardiovascular health outcomes. As the largest state-mandated health service organization in Israel, CRI has access to a trove of patient data that will, for the first time, allow us to explore the predictive potential of our WatchPAT technology. We look forward to collaborating with CRI to explore how WatchPAT may play a role in improving healthcare outcomes across a wide range of indications.”
The study will be conducted in four phases that include data acquisition; extracting appropriate study populations for each healthcare outcome evaluated; baseline modeling using electronic medical record (EMR) data and published literature; and WatchPAT signal modeling using artificial intelligence and machine learning to integrate WatchPAT signal data and EMR data. The study is anticipated to take two years.
“Signal processing can capture ‘hidden’ objective features connected to a variety of diseases. We are excited to evaluate its potential to predict a wide array of cardiovascular diseases. If the model will prove itself; it will be a huge potential to expand this model globally to other healthcare systems especially in poor countries with no well-established EMR systems,” said Prof. Ran Balicer, the director of Clalit Research Institute.
About Itamar Medical Ltd.
Itamar Medical is engaged in research, development, sales and marketing of non-invasive medical devices for the diagnosis of respiratory sleep disorders and uses a digital healthcare platform to facilitate the continuum of care for effective sleep apnea management with a focus on the cardiology market. The Company offers a Total Sleep Solution™ to help physicians provide comprehensive sleep apnea management in a variety of clinical environments to optimize patient care and reduce healthcare costs. Its flagship PAT®-based product, the WatchPAT™ device, is a home-use diagnostic device for sleep breathing disorders. Its digital health platform, including CloudPAT™ and SleePATh™, facilitates seamless and complete care pathway management in a complex environment. It also offers the EndoPAT™ system, an FDA-cleared device to test endothelial dysfunction and to evaluate the risk of heart disease and other cardiovascular diseases. Itamar Medical is a public company traded on the Nasdaq and on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchanges, and is based in Caesarea, Israel with U.S. headquarters based in Atlanta, GA. For additional information visit www.itamar-medical.com.
About Clalit Health Services
Clalit Health Services is the largest healthcare organization in Israel, providing primary, specialty and hospital care to over 50% of the Israeli population, with minimal attrition throughout members life. Clalit has been a global forerunner in digital health innovation and at-scale implementation, and utilized for this purpose its unique database which holds over 20 years of payer and provider detailed EHR data. The Clalit Research Institute is a globally recognized innovation center for data science in healthcare., responsible for integrating data and knowhow into innovative digital health tools and insights, with an aim to promote proactive, predictive, and precise care in daily practice.
Forward-Looking Statements
This Press Release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other applicable securities laws. Statements preceded by, followed by, or that otherwise include the words “believes”, “expects”, “anticipates”, “intends”, “estimates”, “plans”, and similar expressions or future or conditional verbs such as “will”, “should”, “would”, “may” and “could” are generally forward-looking in nature and not historical facts. For example, when we discuss our strategic initiatives to become the world leader in sleep apnea management solutions for the cardiology market, we are using forward-looking statements. Because such statements deal with future events, they are subject to various risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including events and circumstances out of the Company’s control and actual results, expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, could differ materially from the Company’s current expectations. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, risks, uncertainties and assumptions discussed from time to time by the Company in reports filed with, or furnished to, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the Israel Securities Authority (“ISA”), including the Company’s latest Form 20-F and in the Company’s final prospectus filed under Rule 424(b) on January 31, 2020, which are on file with the SEC and the ISA. Except as otherwise required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
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