Ann: Market Update - Executing Towards Profitability in Oncology, page-113

Sorry Megamao I got to disagree with this statement "IPD SOZO system is a measuring tool so it is useful in monitoring and prevention stages". I could be wrong here but I don't see any logic in IPD approaching renal market with a focus on preventing renal failure (unlike lymphedoema) or monitoring renal failure.

The thing about renal patients is once they get complete renal failure, their kidneys don't work and they cant filter waste products from the blood or regulate their fluid balance easily. Unfortunately their kidney stop working and they either require a renal transplant (new kidneys and lifelong immune suppressants etc(if they can find a donor that matches)) or they need dialysis (a machine that they are hooked up to which filters out the waste products from the blood AND ALSO REMOVES EXCESS FLUID).

Dialysis is usually done 3 times a week for a few hours. Because the kidney don't work the patients don't produce significant amounts of urine (e.g. none or 10mls a day etc). Patients still need to eat and drink and this fluid gets added to the volume already in the blood stream. So come time for a dialysis session doctors have to GUESSTIMATE how much fluid to remove in addition to filtering time. remove too much and you get dehydrated, may drop blood pressure and have a fall if you faint etc remove to little and fluid overload worsens whilst awaiting for the next dialysis session, this may result in hypertension, heart failure, precipitate a heart attack (especially if they have co-existing heart disease which is common unfortunately) etc.

I say guesstimate because the doctors or nurses base fluid to be removed on a patients "dry weight" in kg and then weight gain between dialysis sessions. Dry weight is what the doctors guess is a patients weight is if they had perfect fluid balance. It is very tricky to guess and isn't an exact science at all.

This is where I believe Sozo is to be used and research for bioimpedence spectroscopy regarding renal failure is focused. Sozo is all about fluid balance and if they have a number/formula which objectively measures perfect dry weight/fluid balance or cut off ranges for fluid overload or hypovolemia (AKA dehydration), It could be used three times a week with each dialysis session (pre session or towards the end of the session) to know either how much fluid to remove, or know if they have removed too much or too little fluid towards the end of the session. If they are creative enough then maybe they could even generate a formula/number of how much fluid to remove before the dialysis starts (I'm not sure they may already have this, but I don't really recall getting filled in on this strategy or ideas re renal recently). Maybe its top secret and underway hehe.

Dialysis cost the health system enormously. The prevention aspect of sozo wouldn't be about preventing renal failure or monitoring renal failure, but rather preventing adverse events or death secondary to fluid overload or dehydration from the removal of incorrect amounts of fluid. It could also make doctors estimation of fluid removal alot more scientific, easy and quick. I think bioimpedance spectroscopy has enormous potential in this market and I also believe that impedimed has the best and most advanced machine by a mile. I really hope they are doing serious work behind the scenes to maintain this lead and further develop this area, but I currently have my doubts because of recent commentary (hopefully I am wrong).