Deltex Medical’s CardioQ-ODM selected by UK's NICE for evaluation

Deltex Medical Group (AIM: DEMG) said its oesophageal Doppler monitoring (ODM) device CardioQ-ODM will become one of the first products to be reviewed by the newly established Medical Technologies Advisory Committee (MTAC) after today being selected by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).
The External Assessment Centre of NICE has already started reviewing clinical evidence in respect of the CardioQ-ODM. The clinical evidence submitted to NICE includes the health technology assessment on ODM published by the National Institute for Healthcare Research in January 2009 and “Doppler guided intraoperative fluid management” published by the NHS in January 2010.
It is expected that NICE will issue a final guidance in 2011 after MTAC develops draft recommendations in September 2010.
The company said that the decision to evaluate CardioQ-ODM supported its strategy to drive system-wide adoption of CardioQ-ODM through establishing a “robust evidence-base of its clinical and cost-effectiveness.”
“A positive NICE recommendation should not only accelerate significantly the adoption of CardioQ-ODM in the UK but also help us create opportunities for accelerated uptake in many of our export markets,” said chief executive Ewan Phillips.
MTAC was set up by NICE in November 2009 to improve the process of identifying, evaluating and adopting effective new medical devices. NICE’s Evaluation Pathway Programme for Medical Technologies is intended to help enable new medical technologies to be used more quickly and consistently in the NHS.
The CardioQ oesophageal Doppler monitor is used in patients during major surgery or in intensive care. ODM is the only technology to measure blood flows in the central circulation, the company said, adding it is highly sensitive to changes in flow and measures them immediately and accurately, enabling doctors to intervene quickly and safely based on small changes in circulating blood volume.
Late last year, the company reported positive results from a study on the use of its CardioQ-ODM device to monitor blood circulation in comparison to devices utilising Pulse Pressure Waveform Analysis (PPWA). The study results showed an unacceptably large percentage errors in a more recently introduced device utilising PPWA device relative to ODM and poor correlation after changes in the bloodflow.