MedTrace has gained a U.S. patent for its method of modeling the heart by analyzing positron emission tomography (PET) flow signals.

The heart modeling algorithm forms the baseline of the company’s aQuant software, which quantifies blood flow and perfusion using radioactive water. The product “will fully automate the entire analysis and image generation of the heart via PET flow,” the company said.

The investigational product is not currently approved or cleared by the FDA and has not yet received a European CE mark. The company expects to gain equivalent patents in Europe and China in the first half of this year.