New Screening Technology Can Help Implement PACT Act--Aid Veterans Suffering Burn Pit Exposure

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Mar 23, 2023, 10:57 ET

Alongside High-Profile Advocates, 4DMedical Presses Lawmakers for Pilot Lung Screening Program

WASHINGTON, March 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- 4DMedical, the leading developer of functional imaging software for respiratory illness, made the rounds on Capitol Hill Wednesday urging lawmakers to harness the latest emerging technologies to treat veterans suffering from exposure to toxic burn pits. 4D is asking Congress to allocate funds for a pilot program to implement their non-invasive lung screening technology at 3–5 U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) sites around the country.

Joining 4D in the nation's capital was a quartet of nationally known veterans' advocates: Le Roy Torres and his wife Rosie, founders of Burn Pits 360; Ohio resident Tim Hauser, an Air Force veteran who for suffers from constrictive bronchiolitis, and Kevin Hensley, a Michigan veteran of the U.S. Air Force who also suffers from constrictive bronchiolitis. Hensley, Hauser and Le Roy Torres have recently received a scan using 4D's imaging technology. The results have provided deeper and more detailed insights into these veterans' lung function—demonstrating the technology's potential to non-invasively and scalably identify and triage veterans with deployment related respiratory disease.

Upon President Joe Biden signing the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act of 2022, more than 3.5 million post 9/11 veterans became eligible for care for illness related to their deployments. Many of these veterans are experiencing unexplained shortness of breath, which is often determined to be caused by constrictive bronchiolitis, but requires a costly and risky surgical lung biopsy to diagnose. This is the same disease of the small airways suffered by Hauser, Henlsey and Torres.

4D's XV LVAS technology, which received FDA clearance in May 2020, can help physicians accurately detect areas of high and low ventilation in all parts of the lung and in all phases of the breath—without an invasive biopsy.

"To implement the PACT Act effectively and affordably, the VA must use emerging technologies like 4D's software to fundamentally change how we screen, diagnose, and treat our veterans with suspected deployment related respiratory disease" said 4DMedical CEO and Founder Dr. Andreas Fouras. "Our imaging technology will give VA physicians the tool they need to screen extremely large numbers of veterans accurately, non-invasively and much faster than has been possible. We hope members of Congress on both sides of the aisle will see how a pilot program around advanced lung screening technology is key to implementing the PACT Act—and getting our heroes the help they deserve."

"Passing the PACT Act was a major milestone, but its potential is only as good as the VA's ability to implement it. My husband Le Roy has already benefited from the role of emerging technology. I hope that tens of thousands of veterans around the country will soon have the same opportunity," added Rosie Torres.

4DMedical is a global medical technology company transforming respiratory diagnostics for all lung disorders, including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cystic fibrosis and cancer. 4DMedical technology is providing clinicians with greater insights into lung function and the impact of diseases and treatment interventions.

Learn more at: https://4dmedical.com/

Contact: Colin Reed, [email protected]

SOURCE 4DMedical