GEMS joins with two facilities on developing near-infrared-light imaging

GE Medical Systems (GEMS) has signed separate licensing agreements with the Texas A&M University System and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center to develop new near-infrared-light imaging technologies.

GEMS says the technologies have the potential to improve the detection, diagnosis and treatment of cancers. Terms of the agreements were not disclosed.

The A&M System technology - fluorescence-enhanced optical imaging and tomography - combines imaging sensitivity, tissue penetration and tissue characterization to detect, diagnose and track progression of disease. It also can be applied in research to aid in the pharmaceutical development of new diagnostic and therapeutic agents.

The Beth Israel Deaconess technology is an intraoperative near-infrared fluorescence imaging system that enables surgeons to visualize surgical anatomy and functional fluorescence at the same time, non-invasively, and with high spatial resolution. Its potential applications include image-guided sentinel lymph node mapping, image-guided cancer resection with real-time assessment of surgical margins, and mapping of tumor and normal vasculature.

The first medical application of fluorescence-enhanced optical imaging and tomography most likely will be the detection of metastatic cancer cells in newly diagnosed breast cancer patients, says Eva Sevick-Muraca, PhD, professor of chemical engineering and chemistry at Texas A&M University.

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