Source: MarketWatch
Published: September 10, 2013

 

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, Sep 10, 2013 (Marketwired via COMTEX) — Verisante Technology, Inc. CA:VRS -4.84% (otcqx:VRSEF) (the “Company” or “Verisante”), a leader in cancer detection technology, announced today that the Company has completed the second phase prototype of a rapid Multispectral Imaging (“MSI”) System for skin cancer detection.

The MSI device is intended to assist medical professionals in the detection of all major forms of skin cancer. The device takes images of suspicious lesions with more than a dozen different wavelengths of light to capture real-time spectral images in a fraction of a second. These spectral images contain unique information about suspected skin lesions such as tissue oxygenation ratios, hemoglobin levels, melanin levels, scatter sizes, and other parameters.

The prototype system is currently undergoing laboratory testing at the BC Cancer Agency Research Centre prior to starting in vivo data collection for training the predictive algorithm for the device.

“Being able to extract the parameters collected by this MSI system could provide a strong predictive measurement for all major forms of skin cancer,” said Dr. Haishan Zeng, a distinguished scientist in the Integrative Oncology Department at the BC Cancer Agency.

Verisante licensed the MSI technology from the inventors, Dr. Haishan Zeng and Dr. Yasser Fawzy of the BC Cancer Agency, for skin cancer and oral cancer detection as part of a broader acquisition strategy to enhance the Company’s intellectual property portfolio of different technologies that, in addition to MSI, include white light reflectance imaging, fluorescence imaging and rapid Raman spectroscopy.

The MSI camera is intended to be a low cost, hand held, portable device that connects to a laptop computer via USB cable to assist in the detection of skin cancer and will be a great addition to our existing product line. The company will also explore the possibility of combining the MSI camera with the existing Aura device to determine if the two different technologies produce higher accuracy when results are combined since they are measuring different parameters.

Verisante has filed for patent protection in over 10 jurisdictions on the MSI technology, and the PCT application is now in the final, national and regional phase.

“This is a major milestone for the MSI camera project which began two years ago when it was just an idea on paper. It is finally beginning to look more like a product than a prototype. While it is already lightweight and compact, we anticipate the final version will be even smaller and lighter. This company has demonstrated once again its ability to take projects from the idea stage and create products”, said Thomas Braun, CEO. “Once the skin cancer version is proven we will build another version for oral cancer detection.”

To view photos of the second phase prototype, visit the Company’s facebook page at www.facebook.com/verisante.

About the BC Cancer Agency

The BC Cancer Agency is part of the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA), providing province-wide specialty healthcare in British Columbia (BC), Canada. The BC Cancer Agency provides a comprehensive cancer control program for the people of BC by working with community partners to deliver a range of oncology services, including prevention, early detection, diagnosis and treatment, research, education, supportive care, rehabilitation and palliative care. www.bccancer.bc.ca.

About Verisante Technology, Inc.

Verisante is a medical device company committed to commercializing innovative systems for the early detection of cancer. The Verisante Aura(TM) for skin cancer detection and the Verisante Core(TM) series for lung, colon and cervical cancer detection utilize a proprietary cancer detection platform while the operating software and probe technology are unique to each device. The cancer detection platform was developed by the BC Cancer Agency and tested and refined at the Skin Care Centre at Vancouver General Hospital. This exclusive platform technology allows Verisante to develop and offer a range of compact, non-invasive cancer detection devices that offer physicians immediate results for many of the most common cancers. Aura(TM) has been approved for sale in Canada, Europe and Australia. Core(TM) has not yet been approved for sale.

Verisante Aura(TM) was awarded Popular Science Magazine’s “Best of What’s New Award” for 2011, awarded a 2013 Prism Award for Innovation in Photonics and an Edison Award for Excellence in Innovation in 2013. Verisante Core(TM) was named one of the top 10 cancer breakthroughs of 2011 by the Canadian Cancer Society.

The TSX Venture Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved of the contents of this press release. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

*This news story was resourced by the Oral Cancer Foundation, and vetted for appropriateness and accuracy.