In addition to her role as a hand and wrist specialist in Baltimore, Dr. Youssra Marjoua also serves as the Director of Global Medicine for OXOS Medical, which is a company that developed an imaging technology known as Micro C – an untethered, handheld, portable X-ray device.
Dr. Marjoua was an orthopedic resident at Massachusetts General Hospital where her OXOS partner and fellow orthopedic hand surgeon Dr. Gregory Kolovich was a hand and upper extremity fellow, and where Micro C was born. The technology was invented to address the need for safer, faster, and more accurate imaging options, to more effectively perform delicate techniques required for surgical management of hand and finger fractures and reconstructions.
The team’s goal with Micro C was to create an untethered, handheld, portable X-ray device that emits a fraction of the amount of radiation of a Mini C, with improved resolution. The system can then be synced with the office or hospital PACS system allowing HIPAA-compliant images to be rapidly accessed and saved in the electronic medical record. The records can be forwarded directly to patients and other health care providers, when necessary.
For global health and humanitarian efforts, which is a commitment that Dr. Marjoua will continue to maintain, Micro C solves the problem of providing X-ray technology in locations where it may not exist – particularly in resource-poor settings where both preoperative and intraoperative imaging are largely unavailable. This transforms the capacity to deliver high-quality care in under-resourced settings.
In the U.S., the goal of Micro C’s portability is to bring x-ray imaging to patients wherever they may need it. This would result in direct and rapid delivery to patient point of care whether it is in an ER, a sports field, or a nursing home.
The portability of the device will also expand more immediate access to:
Urgent care facilities
Pediatric facilities
Military/Wartime settings – for field diagnosis and treatment
From a patient’s perspective, the value of Micro C is threefold:
1) Micro C improves the convenience and speed at which a patient can obtain x-ray images.
2) Micro C improves the speed at which the X-ray can be evaluated by a medical professional. It makes the X-ray results available to share with the patient much sooner. And it increases the speed at which a diagnoses/treatment plan can be provided.
3) Micro C substantially reduces the radiation exposure experienced by patients when undergoing x-ray imaging, making it a safer option than traditional X-ray technology.
Micro C was FDA cleared in January 2021 for use in the United States and is currently in the process of applying for CE Mark approval in Europe. After the completion of the limited-market launch of the original Micro C technology to hospitals, private practices, academic facilities, ambulatory, and surgical centers, OXOS Medical plans to integrate feedback improvements and launch a wireless version of Micro C that can ultimately change the way X-ray technology is utilized globally.
