TechniScan commences study with WBU system for automated breast ultrasound imaging

TechniScan, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: TSNI) ("TechniScan" or the "Company"), a medical device company engaged in the development and commercialization of an automated breast ultrasound imaging system, today announced that it has commenced phase two of its grant study at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Moores Cancer Center.

TechniScan's Warm Bath Ultrasound (WBU™) system is designed to capture three-dimensional images of the breast as a woman lies prone on a table and state-of-the- art ultrasound technology is used in a warm water tank to capture images of the breast anatomy.

The Moores UCSD Cancer Center is a National Cancer Institute (NCI) designated comprehensive cancer center with scientists and clinicians focused on developing the next generation of cancer therapies and cures. The TechniScan Warm Bath Ultrasound™ system investigations will be conducted with Michael P. Andre, Ph.D., Professor of Radiology, and breast radiologists Dr. Linda Olson and Dr. Haydee Ojeda-Fournier.

Funded by a NCI Small Business Innovation Research Grant (SBIR) from the National Institute of Health, the study will involve approximately 130 women with various types of breast lesions.  Major objectives of the 12-month study will be to compare WBU™ to conventional breast sonography and to examine the WBU™ system's ability to differentiate between normal, benign and malignant breast tissue.

"We are excited to begin this new phase in the development of WBU™; it marks a genuine milestone in which our work may be translated to the front lines of the clinical world, " said Andre.

Researchers involved in the study will also utilize TechniScan's groundbreaking imaging network, which provides them with the ability to archive, store, and retrieve WBU™ images and relevant medical records and to collaborate with other researchers at sites in Freiburg, Germany, Salt Lake City and Rochester, Minnesota.  

"Our vision is to begin to create a database of thousands of breast images and related data," said Dave Robinson, chief executive officer at TechniScan, Inc. "With complete anonymity, women may contribute their mammograms, breast MRI's and WBU™ images, along with related pathology and other information, to provide researchers around the world an unprecedented opportunity to study breast cancer. TechniScan's imaging network will also allow timely and efficient collaboration of patient's records for her medical team's use. The concept is simple, yet revolutionary within the medical system and represents a key competitive advantage of the TechniScan system."

SOURCE TechniScan, Inc.