Toumaz Technology Successfully Delivers Technology Platform for collaborative EU-funded DIAdvisor™Clinical Trial
Embargoed Release: 07:00 Wednesday 6th May 2009
Toumaz Holdings Limited
(`Toumaz Holdings', the `Company' or the `Group')
Toumaz Technology Successfully Delivers Technology Platform for collaborative
EU-funded DIAdvisor™Clinical Trial
Toumaz Holdings, the specialist niche investor in emerging technologies, is
pleased to announce that its wholly-owned subsidiary Toumaz Technology Limited
('Toumaz Technology') has successfully completed the timely delivery of the
hardware, software and sensors that are being used to capture large-scale data
in the first phase of DIAdvisor™'s clinical trial. DIAdvisor™ is a
collaborative research project aiming to develop a personal blood glucose
predictor and treatment advisor for diabetes patients.
DIAdvisorTM (www.diadvisor.eu) is a large-scale integrating project (IP) aiming
at the development of a prediction-based tool which uses past and easily
available information to optimise the therapy of type I and developed type II
diabetes. DIAdvisor™ will allow patients to actively and accurately predict
their short-term blood glucose outlook at any time by analysing data retrieved
from glucose measurements, insulin delivery data and specific patient
parameters. The key data, captured by non-intrusive body-worn wireless monitors
including those based on Toumaz Technology's breakthrough Sensium™ platform,
will be used to create physiological mathematical modelling, control and
prediction algorithms. The resulting analysis and prediction information will
be wirelessly transmitted to a healthcare provider advisory service, with
recommended action and treatment advice presented to the patient via a handheld
mobile device such as a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA).
The first year of the project oversaw the implementation of a large-scale
data-acquisition clinical trial involving 90 patients across three sites in
Europe; France, Italy and Czech Republic. As leaders of Workpackage 4, Toumaz
Technology is responsible for the device platform development, including
hardware, software and sensors and has ensured the successful and timely
delivery of this device platform in the first year of the project.
The collaborative DIAdvisor project received a €7.1 million European Community
Grant in April 2008 and the large-scale four year research and development
project is being coordinated by Novo Nordisk A/S, a world leader in diabetes
care. It will be delivered by a consortium of 13 medical, industrial and
academic partners, including the European Division of the International
Diabetes Federation.
The DIAdvisorTM project consortium recently held its second General Assembly
(GA2), to review progress at end of the first year of the project. The GA2
meeting was hosted by consortium members Toumaz Technology at the Institute of
Biomedical Engineering at Imperial College London.
Dr Alison Burdett, Director of Technology for Toumaz Technology commented:
"The development of the DIAdvisorTM personal blood glucose predictor and
treatment advisor has the potential to revolutionise the therapy of millions of
diabetes sufferers in Europe and worldwide, minimising the occurrence of diabetic
complications and reducing healthcare costs. The research and development
carried out by all partners during the first year of the DIAdvisor™ programme
brings this worthwhile goal one step closer."
Professor Christofer Toumazou, chairman of Toumaz Holdings, commented:
"Our increasingly sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy dietary habits have led to
the incidence of diabetes approaching epidemic proportions. Our Sensium™
technology is proving core in the deployment of a commercial solution to
produce a successful personal continuous predictable monitor that will help
transform the lives for diabetes sufferers. In addition, our collaborative and
working relationships with leaders in the diabetes treatment market such as
Novo Nordisk, will enable Toumaz Holdings to continue to build its presence in
this expanding market."
For Further Enquiries:
Chris Toumazou Toumaz Holdings Tel: +44 207 245 1100
Limited
Charles Cunningham FinnCap Tel: 020 7600 1658
Vikki Krause Hansard Group Tel: +44 7515 922906
About Toumaz Technology (www.toumaz.com):
Toumaz Technology Limited is the leading provider of ultra-low power wireless
infrastructure for body monitoring solutions. Toumaz's ultra low-power smart
sensor interface and transceiver platform - the Sensium™ - enables
non-intrusive, real-time wireless monitoring of multiple vital signs for a wide
range of healthcare and lifestyle management applications.
Based on Toumaz's patented ultra-low power Advanced Mixed Signal (AMx™)
technology, the Sensium™ provides the enabling technology to connect the mobile
individual to healthcare providers - simply, affordably and unobtrusively.
For healthcare professionals, this transforms the possibilities for pro-active
monitoring and improved quality of care. For patients, it delivers new
opportunities for lifestyle-compatible, personalised healthcare, as well as
better therapeutic outcomes.