KarmelSonix device gets FDA nod

KarmelSonix Ltd., which develops and markets devices for asthma and related pulmonary disorders, has received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for its device, the WIM -PC. The company is traded on the Australian Stock Exchange after it was merged with an Australian company which is active in a similar field.

KarmelSonix specializes in the mathematical analysis of sounds emanating from the body, specifically wheezing heard in asthmatic patients. The device consists of a sensor attached to the patient's neck and chest near the windpipe, and a computerized system that analyses the sounds and determines whether they indicate a life threatening situation requiring the sufferer to be admitted to hospital, or whether the condition can treated at home or at a clinic.

KarmelSonix was founded as Karmel Medical in 1996. The company raised $8 million and it even received FDA approval for its device (a previous generation of the WIM-PC), but then the bubble burst and the company had difficulty raising finance for the most expensive stage of all - marketing. It was at this point that it was decided to merge the company with an Australian shell called PulmaSonix, and a third company. KarmelSonix recently raised A$ 6 million ($5.3 million) on the Australian Stock Exchange at A$0.19 a share.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on November 7, 2007