Lightpoint Medical, an innovative medical device company specializing in imaging technologies, announced today that the LightPath™ Imaging System is now CE marked, enabling the launch of the device in Europe.
"We are delighted to have achieved the major landmark of a CE mark for Lightpoint's first product offering: the LightPath™ Imaging System," said Dr David Tuch, CEO of Lightpoint Medical. "Bringing LightPath™ to market is an important milestone in our efforts to transform cancer surgery."
Cancer surgery is often unsuccessful because surgeons fail to remove all of the cancerous tissue. Today, surgeons rely on the look and feel of the tissue to detect cancer during surgery. The consequences, in addition to the need for a repeat operation, include delayed follow-up treatment, increased likelihood of recurrence, patient anxiety and enormous cost to health services.
The LightPath™ Imaging System is designed for use in the operating room to help surgeons ensure they have removed all cancerous tissue in a single operation. Experts believe the device may have the potential to reduce the number of repeat operations for breast cancer, where up to 40% of patients are faced with additional surgery.
The system detects Cerenkov Luminescence, a faint light produced by PET imaging agents widely used in cancer diagnosis. Although the science behind the LightPath™ system has been known for many years, this is the first time that it has been utilized in this way and the LightPath™ Imaging System is the first approved medical device for intra-operative molecular imaging in the world. The technology provides the potential for optical imaging of numerous cancer types.
LightPath™ is now commercially available in Europe having been launched at the biennial congress of the European CanCer Organisation (ECCO) in Vienna on 25-29 September 2015. The organization represents the interests of over 60,000 oncology professionals and promotes the multidisciplinary nature of the field with the aim of improving the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care of cancer patients.
Commercial launch in the United States is planned for 2016.
The LightPath™ Imaging System was developed with Sagentia, Lightpoint's product development partner and made possible by Collaborative R&D and Smart grants from Innovate UK, the UK's innovation agency.
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