Biofusion targets lucrative knee injury market
UNIVERSITY of Sheffield spin-out Biofusion has announced it has invested in a new company set up to revolutionise the diagnosis of knee problems.
Demasq is the result of its partnership with Cardiff University and the work carried out by Professor Hechmi Toumi, a specialist at the muscle-bone-tendon unit of the School of Biosciences.
The company will specialise on developing a range of innovative bone and tissue imaging products.
The spin out's first product, the Degenerative Knee Indicator (DKI), aims to provide surgeons, radiologists, physiotherapists and GPs with more image detail, at less cost, than conventional knee imaging technologies.
The DKI image aims to provide the soft tissue detail achievable with MRI combined with the bone detail of an X-ray.
Demasq aims to launch the DKI in the UK and US in 2009.
In parallel, Demasq is generating a pipeline of additional products for a range of imaging applications. Biofusion has invested an initial £450,000 in Demasq and will have a 50% shareholding in the company.
The launch of Demasq brings the total number of companies in the Biofusion portfolio to 25.
Chief executive officer David Baynes said: “We are very excited by the cutting edge advanced medical imaging technology that Demasq has developed. Its first product, which targets the multimillion pound knee pain diagnosis market, has the potential to revolutionise the diagnosis of knee problems for patients. We are particularly excited by the speed with which we believe we can launch the first product into the US and UK private sector markets.”
