CurveBeam AI achieves increased purchase orders for first quarter of FY24

Medical imaging equipment provider CurveBeam AI (ASX: CVB) has achieved a key metric of increased purchase order sales for the first quarter of the 2024 financial year.

The company received four purchase orders for its flagship HiRise scanner device in the period ending 30 September, representing a 100% increase on the same time last year and achieved during a seasonally-weak holiday quarter in the US and Europe.

Three sales were made by the Foot and Ankle division of Stryker (which became a CurveBeam partner in May) while the remaining device was a sale into Denmark through a newly-formed subsidiary in Germany.

Pipeline of prospects

Stryker now has a pipeline of US HiRise prospects and is able to offer a full array of surgical hardware and implant choices to fit patient needs which require CT (computed tomography) images for their custom cut guides.

The company is reported to be the “ideal partner” to help CurveBeam commercialise its products in the US.

CurveBeam said it expected to see significant growth in purchase orders by Stryker in the coming quarters.

Customer receipts

CurveBeam’s receipts from customers for the period totalled $1.65 million — down from $2.75 million in the previous corresponding period.

That period saw an increase in cash receipts from past purchase orders counter to normal seasonality, as a backlog of devices associated with pandemic-related supply chain disruptions began to clear.

The three months to end September also recorded “abnormally high” product manufacturing costs of $2.63 million as CurveBeam continued to build its inventory to meet anticipated demand from Stryker.

A normalised figure for this quarter is $1.1 million.

Administration and corporate costs of $2.59 million included initial public offer costs of $908,000 and included legal and advisory fees, an initial listing fee charged by the Australian Stock Exchange, and public offering insurance.

Scanning capabilities

CurveBeam’s HiRise scanner can perform traditional CT scans (where a patient lies down) as well as weight-bearing ones (where a patient stands in a normal pose).

Weight-bearing scans are generally quicker and easier than traditional CT or MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans, and emit a lower dose of radiation.

They can also enable a more accurate medical diagnosis due to unique alignment data which can be derived from a scan performed under a standing load.

HiRise enhancements

CurveBeam said it was developing enhancements to the HiRise platform, including a stronger x-ray source for larger patients.

This will enable higher resolution imaging of hip and knee joints required for key surgical systems and patient specific instrumentation from multiple providers.

While enhanced scans will be made available to vendors in the second quarter for validation purposes, the actual validation of datasets for robotics-aided surgical systems has been targeted for later in the year.

CurveBeam said it was targeting a commercial launch of the enhanced HiRise platform around mid-year.

The system upgrade is considered critical to offering a CT bone mineral density analysis and reporting module for the knee and hip total joint replacement market.