• 2/2/2007
  • Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
  • press release
  • Genetic Engineering News (www.genengnews.com)

LED Medical Diagnostics Inc., a Vancouver-based medical device company, recently closed a USD 6 million financing round through Integral Wealth Securities Limited.

The company will use these funds to aggressively market and distribute its FDA (510k) cleared VELscope (Visually Enhanced Lesion Scope) oral mucosal examination device in the United States and Canadian dental markets through its wholly owned subsidiary, LED Dental Inc.

VELscope is a clinically proven adjunctive screening device that utilizes a narrow band of blue light and specialized filtering technology to help dental professionals evaluate oral mucosa for abnormal areas of concern, such as potentially cancerous lesions that may not be apparent under white light.

In addition, this round of funding will enable LED Medical to accelerate its efforts to integrate the use of VELscope into the oral hygiene and oral pathology curricula of leading dental schools throughout North America.

According to Peter Whitehead, CEO and Director of LED Medical: “This oversubscribed round of financing was a resoundingly strong vote of confidence by the investment community for our proprietary Direct Tissue Fluorescence Visualization Technology and the potential it has to help save lives.”

VELscope was proven effective in clinical trials conducted by the British Columbia Cancer Agency (BCCA) and financed in part by over $50 million in grants from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, part of the National Institutes of Health, a U.S. government-funded agency.

“VELscope’s improved real-time visual detection capability can significantly enhance the overall efficacy of oral screening programs, which enables the treatment of cancerous lesions earlier in the disease process,” explained Whitehead. “This is significant because 50% of patients diagnosed with oral cancer are expected to die within 5 years.(1) But if caught early, 90% of oral cancer cases are survivable.”(2)

About LED Medical Diagnostics Inc.

LED Medical Diagnostics and its wholly owned subsidiary, LED Dental Inc., are headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The companies develop and market medical screening devices based on a proprietary fluorescence visualization technology platform that aids in the early detection of mucosal tissue abnormalities, including malignant and pre-malignant lesions, to facilitate timely diagnosis and treatment. For more information, call 1-888-541-4614 or visit www.VELscope.com

Notes:
(1) U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Oral Health in America: A Report of the Surgeon General. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health – Rockville, MD, 2000.

(2) Oral Cancer Foundation, Oral Cancer Facts [Internet]. 24 October 2005 [cited 28 January 2006]. Available from http://www.oralcancerfoundation.org/facts/index.htm.