Optellum, a lung health company aiming to redefine early diagnosis and treatment of lung disease, today announced it received FDA clearance for its “Virtual Nodule Clinic”.
Optellum was co-founded by Oxford cancer researcher Prof. Sir Michael Brady with the mission of seeing every lung disease patient diagnosed and treated at the earliest possible stage, and cured.
Optellum’s initial product is the Virtual Nodule Clinic, the first AI-powered Clinical Decision Support software for lung cancer management. Their platform helps clinicians identify and track at-risk patients and speed up decisions for those with cancer while reducing unnecessary procedures.
Lung cancer kills more people than any other cancer. The current five-year survival rate is an abysmal 20%, primarily due to the majority of patients being diagnosed after symptoms have appeared and the disease has progressed to an advanced stage. This much-needed platform is the first such application of AI decision support for early lung cancer diagnosis cleared by the FDA.
Physician use of Virtual Nodule Clinic is shown to improve diagnostic accuracy and clinical decision-making. A clinical study, which underpinned the FDA clearance for the Virtual Nodule Clinic, engaged pulmonologists and radiologists to assess the accuracy for diagnosing lung nodules when using the Optellum software.
Dr Václav Potěšil, co-founder and CEO of Optellum says:
“This clearance will ensure clinicians have the clinical decision support they need to diagnose and treat lung cancer at the earliest possible stage, harnessing the power of physicians and AI working together – to the benefit of patients.
Our goal at Optellum is to redefine early diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer, and this FDA clearance is the first step on that journey. We look forward to empowering clinicians in every hospital, from our current customers at academic medical centers to local community hospitals, to offer patients with lung cancer and other deadly lung diseases the most optimal diagnosis and treatment.”