ANIE -Biomarker Platform
Better Results from Higher Resolution; Any research involving white matter will benefit from our capabilities.
Fundamentally, the ANIE biomarker platform is a proprietary software algorithm that incorporates artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze and extract information from advanced white matter imaging data.
- The software was developed through a collaboration between two experts in their field: Maxime Descoteaux, who is a white matter imaging specialist, and Pierre-Marc Jodoin, who is a deep learning specialist.
- The AI component of Imeka’s ANIE biomarker platform was trained on a combination of atlases, open-source MRI databases, and proprietary databases.
Thanks to its unique processing abilities, Imeka’s ANIE biomarker platform can efficiently and accurately:
- Identify key differences between two groups (for example, a control group vs. a treatment group, or a patient group vs. healthy controls);
- Identify longitudinal changes on a per-patient basis; and
- Function as a biomarker-generating platform.
At Imeka, we use non-invasive, advanced white matter MRI to image white matter and:
Measure three key markers of neuropathology: neuroinflammation, axonal degeneration, and demyelination;
Measure therapeutic effects, such as remyelination and tissue repair;
Provide virtual dissection of 50+ different fiber bundles—robust to crossing fibers.
The ultimate goal of white matter imaging is to find non-invasive and indirect markers that are sensitive to pathology and are able to quantify damage and/or therapeutic changes. Imeka’s ANIE (Advanced Neuro Imaging Endpoints) biomarker platform achieves that goal.
Our proprietary analytic algorithm and well-trained artificial intelligence work together to identify and quantify white matter pathology and integrity.
Imeka’s ANIE biomarker platform identifies and quantifies neuroinflammation on the voxel level by measuring the free water fraction with a high degree of sensitivity and specificity.
Imeka’s ANIE biomarker platform identifies the location, extent, and degree of demyelination and remyelination. The algorithm can even identify pathology in normal-appearing white matter.
Imeka’s ANIE biomarker platform identifies the tissue fraction of a fiber element (called the fixel) and measures apparent fiber density robust to crossing fibers. In doing so, we characterize the integrity of white matter tissue and measure axonal death along specific white matter bundles—whether or not white matter lesions are present.
Unlike diffusion tensor imaging, which assumes single-directional tracts, Imeka’s ANIE biomarker platform is robust to crossing fibers.
Imeka’s unique ANIE biomarker platform automatically and robustly extracts 50+ of the main white matter fiber bundles for unparalleled virtual dissection capabilities. We analyze the white matter microstructure along each fiber bundle of interest—all completely non-invasively.
Imeka can give you precise micro- and macrostructure information about the white matter—even before clinical signs.
What if you could locate and measure the effect of a therapy before even seeing a clinical difference? What if you could quantify a clinical effect in a specific area of the brain, instead of having your data diluted by whole-brain measurements?
Imeka offers you that. Change your pipeline for the better with our ANIE validation.
Here’s how the detailed, precise information from Imeka’s ANIE (Advanced Neuro Imaging Endpoints) biomarker platform can help you optimize MRI time and streamline your pipeline in every phase:
ANIE validation opportunities
Preclinical
Refine the pipeline: Remove ineffective or inappropriate candidates before overinvesting.
Phase 1 / 2 / 2b
Accelerate the proof-of-concept stages: Get early information from small sample trials on specific markers of neuroinflammation, axonal integrity, and/or myelin content, including the type and magnitude of change.
Phase 3
Streamline study recruitment: Select the right patients for your trials, based on validated markers of white matter microstructure along specific pathways.
Track and quantify efficacy: Follow disease progression and drug efficacy longitudinally throughout your late-stage clinical trials.
Registration
Expedite the approval process: Provide nuanced data to regulatory bodies to prove the therapeutic value of your product.
Post-approval / Phase 4 or trial failure
Get post hoc insights: We can work with data that was acquired in the past. With a limited number of acquired directions (≥ 20), we can perform free water modeling and advanced tractography from legacy data to help you make the most of your hard work.