New funding for intraoperative optical breast imaging

Lightpoint Medical and Sagentia Technology and Product Development have been awarded a $200,000 grant by the U.K.’s Technology Strategy Board, the company announced earlier this month.

The new molecular image-guided system for breast cancer surgery is based on Cerenkov luminescence imaging, which uses optical technology to image PET biomarkers. The technology is slated specifically for intraoperative breast imaging in order to detect the full extent of disease and reduce resurgeries, which have been known to occur in 20-40 percent of women who have had a breast-conserving procedure. However the system could be developed for other applications.

The companies have won funding for a new molecular breast imaging system as a part of the Board’s Photonics for Health competition to support research that identifies and solves challenges in photonic technology.

“We are grateful and honored to receive this award from the government-backed Technology Strategy Board,” said David Tuch, PhD, CEO of Lightpoint Medical in a statement. “Nearly one in four patients who undergo surgery for early-stage breast cancer will require repeat operation. We aim to address this enormous medical need through our proprietary molecular imaging technology.”

Optical PET is being presented by the company as a less expensive option--reputed to be 100 times cheaper than whole-body PET. The molecular breast imaging system is still in development and has not yet been approved for clinical use.