Kent Imaging Announces FDA Clearance of SnapshotNIR KD205
tl;dr
Expanded Accessibility – Kent Imaging’s SnapshotNIR KD205 receives FDA clearance, improving tissue oxygen saturation (StO2) measurement for individuals across most Fitzpatrick Skin Types, ensuring more inclusive healthcare.
Advanced Technology – The device enhances sensitivity to melanin, providing accurate, repeatable imaging results for better wound care, surgical assessment, and limb preservation.
Healthcare Impact – KD205 supports improved clinical decision-making, particularly for underserved populations disproportionately affected by vascular conditions and chronic wounds.
SnapshotNIR KD205 measures tissue oxygen saturation (StO2), oxyhemoglobin (oxy) and deoxyhemoglobin (deoxy) in individuals across most of the Fitzpatrick Skin Type (FST) scale, at any location on the body. This impressive step forward in the imaging industry will help support the provision of actionable tissue viability insights to more populations across the US.
SnapshotNIR is a non-invasive, non-contact, near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) imaging device that captures StO2 by measuring relative values of hemoglobin in microcirculation. The latest model update has increased sensitivity countering the light-scattering effect of melanin content in tissue. The device automatically accounts for different levels of melanin and adjusts to produce repeatable, objective imaging results on all areas of the body.
Melanin is produced by melanocytes in the epidermis of our skin and increased melanin content leads to a higher absorption of the near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths from spectroscopy devices reducing light reflectance. The advancement in KD205 decreases the impact of melanin attenuating the NIR wavelengths, expanding the use of this technology to include assessment of patients of most skin tones.
Chief Executive Officer of Kent Imaging, Pierre Lemire, says, “It’s progress like this that can move the needle forward for immediate, accurate tissue insights in all patients.”
Intra- and post-operative measurements of oxygenation provides key insight to areas of possible skin necrosis, the viability of surgical flaps, and capacity of a flap to heal. Dr. Glyn Jones, Surgical Chief Medical Officer for Kent Imaging states, “The positive impact of the ability to assess tissue oxygenation within more skin tones cannot be understated. This update also allows research to be inclusive of patients of color, which are historically under-researched populations.”
SnapshotNIR is also used effectively to help treat chronic wounds, a significant healthcare burden in North America resulting in deterioration in quality of life and devastating consequences such as amputations and premature death. This health burden is considerably higher in marginalized populations partly due to decreased diagnosis and intervention rates.
Read more about how Kent Imaging is transforming healthcare.
“With vascular conditions and associated complications, including lower extremity infection and amputation, disproportionately impacting underserved minority populations, KD205 changes the landscape of limb preservation and advanced wound care for highly melanated individuals,” says Dr. Jeffrey Niezgoda, Chief Medical Officer of Limb Preservation at Kent, “The impact that this latest model will have on screening, assessment, and clinical decisions for all patients in one's practice will be immense.”
Kent Imaging is the leading imaging company supplying physicians and healthcare professionals in the US with the ability to measure microvascular StO2, oxy and deoxy values, at any location on the body, across the FST scale. The device can aid clinicians in their decision-making process regarding microvascular status at the point-of-care in all patients, with the goal of improving quality of healthcare.
About Kent Imaging
Located in Calgary, Alberta, Kent is a leading innovator in near-infrared tissue oxygenation imaging, which develops, manufactures, and markets medtech that supports real-time decision-making in wound care, vascular and surgical subspecialties. Kent holds multiple patents in oxygen imaging technology and provides advanced diagnostic imaging solutions to aid healthcare systems.
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