CT study
October 03 2007 - 3:01AM
UK Regulatory
RNS Number:0232F
Medicsight Plc
03 October 2007
Press Release 3 October 2007
Medicsight PLC
("Medicsight" or "the Company")
ACRIN study endorses virtual colonoscopy
Medicsight PLC (AIM: MDST), industry leader in the development of Computer-Aided
Detection (CAD) and image analysis software which assists in the early detection
and diagnosis of disease, draws attention to the recent announcement of
preliminary results of the National US Computerised Tomography (CT) Colonography
Trial (ACRIN study 6664). The results are expected to lead to wider adoption of
CT colonography (also known as virtual colonoscopy) as routine screening for
colorectal cancer.
David Sumner, Chief Executive of Medicsight, said: "We welcome the results of
this landmark study, confirming our belief that CT colonography is a genuine and
robust option in the armamentarium that physicians have at their disposal when
screening for colorectal cancer. This is likely to lead to a material increase
in the use of CT colonography for screening populations aged 50 or more who are
most at risk of developing this devastating condition. Medicsight's ColonCADTM
software, which can be used with multi-detector CT imaging equipment, helps
radiologists to interpret the CT scans and identify early-stage lesions. We
expect the Company and its CAD software to be an important beneficiary of this
trend."
The US trial has compared the detection of polyps and early-stage cancer of the
colon using either conventional optical colonoscopy or CT colonography, in which
X-ray slice images are reconstructed by computer to provide a virtual image of
the colon. This study, funded by the US National Institutes of Health, was
initiated in 2005 and has involved more than 2,500 asymptomatic patients aged 50
or over at 15 centres across the USA. Patients were investigated using both
procedures and the resulting CT images were read by a panel of radiologists. The
headline results of the study, released at the ACRIN 2007 Fall Meeting in
Arlington, Virginia on 28 September, demonstrate convincingly that CT
colonography is at least as sensitive and specific as conventional colonoscopy
in detecting adenomas of 1 cm diameter or larger.
Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the US. When
colorectal cancer is detected early the survival rate is high. Those most at
risk, aged 50 or older, are recommended to be screened regularly. However less
than half actually undergo colonoscopy. Conventional optical colonoscopy,
involving the insertion of a flexible metal tube into the colon, remains the "
gold standard" for detection of early-stage tumours, not least because tissue
samples can be taken at the same time as they are visualised. However CT
colonography is non-invasive, less uncomfortable for the patient and offers the
potential of routine screening. The results of the ACRIN 6664 study are expected
to lead to reimbursement for CT colonography by Medicare and health insurance
companies and thereby drive wider adoption of this technique and increased
levels of screening in the at-risk population.
Dr Stuart Taylor of University College Hospital, a principal investigator for
Medicsight, commented: "This very well designed study is the largest to date
which has specifically investigated the use of CT colonography to screen for
colorectal neoplasia in asymptomatic individuals, and has produced very positive
results. The 90% sensitivity for identifying patients harbouring a 1 cm adenoma
essentially validates the previously reported excellent performance of screening
CT colonography by Dr Perry Pickhardt in 2003. I think we can now conclude that,
when performed by appropriately trained readers, CT colonography is a viable and
robust screening tool for colorectal cancer."
- ENDS -
For further information:
Medicsight PLC
David Sumner Tel: +44 (0)20 7605 7950
www.medicsight.com
Collins Stewart Europe Limited
Tim Mickley Tel: +44 (0)20 7523 8350
Jonny Sloan Tel: +44 (0)20 7523 8302
Media enquiries:
Abchurch
Ashley Tapp Tel: +44 (0) 20 7398 7700
ashley.tapp@abchurch-group.com
Stephanie Cuthbert Tel: +44 (0) 20 7398 7700
stephanie.cuthbert@abchurch-group.com www.abchurch-group.com
Notes to editors
Medicsight PLC is a UK-based, research driven, leading developer of computer-
aided detection (CAD) and image analysis software for the medical imaging
market. The CAD software automatically highlights suspicious areas on
computerised tomography (CT) scans of the colon and lung, helping radiologists
to identify, measure and analyse potential disease and early indicators of
disease. Medicsight's computer-aided detection (CAD) software has been validated
using one of the world's largest and most population diverse databases of
verified patient CT scan data. Medicsight's ColonCAD(TM) and LungCAD(TM)
software products are seamlessly integrated with the advanced 3D visualisation
workstations of several industry-leading imaging equipment partners.
About Computer-Aided Detection
With increasingly sophisticated radiological imaging hardware such as
Multi-Detector CT scanners, radiologists are facing a growing challenge in the
amount of detailed patient image data that they must review for each patient
examination. Some CT scan examinations generate as many as 1000 images per
patient. Review of this data by the radiologist is not only time-consuming but
also prone to error due to reader fatigue. CAD software can help the reviewing
radiologist by analysing the image data and automatically highlighting
suspicious regions of interest for closer inspection. Without CAD software some
potential abnormalities or areas of disease may be overlooked. This is critical
for diagnosis and the management of patient outcomes as early detection of
disease greatly increases the probability of successful treatment and a positive
therapeutic outcome.
About Medicsight's CAD software
Medicsight's ColonCAD(TM) and LungCAD(TM) software use an advanced CAD algorithm
to analyse CT scans of the colon and lung and automatically highlight suspicious
areas that may be indicators of disease. CAD may highlight areas easily
overlooked by the reviewing radiologist, such as small lesions or regions that
are hidden from view behind folds in the colon or normal structures and
surrounding tissue in the lung.
Both CAD products seamlessly integrate with the advanced 3D visualisation
platforms of industry-leading imaging equipment partners. The integrated systems
provide sophisticated image viewing capabilities, including 3D reconstructed
image data, with the added advantage of demonstrating automatic CAD findings to
assist clinical end users in the detection and analysis of disease. This allows
clinical end users to perform either a 'second read', where CAD findings are
displayed to the user after completion of an initial review of the CT scan data,
or a 'concurrent read' where CAD findings are displayed during the user's
initial review of the original CT scan images.
Since inception, Medicsight has developed close and lasting relationships with
some of the world's foremost clinicians in product related areas. This provides
the Company with a wealth of clinical expertise and dedicated clinical research
to support ongoing product development. Medicsight also collaborates with a
number of leading academic institutions and clinical research programmes
worldwide to develop the Company's comprehensive database of population diverse
verified patient CT scan data, thus allowing Medicsight's products to be
validated to the highest possible standards.
About ACRIN
The American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN) is a national cancer
research organization sponsored and funded by the US National Cancer Institute.
About adenomas
An adenoma (sometimes known as a polyp) is a slow-growing benign tumour. This is
the most common type of early-stage tumour found in the colon and typically
projects into the colon from the wall. Adenomas are routinely removed on
identification because of their tendency to become malignant.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
MSCOKBKQOBDDKKK
Medicsight (LSE:MDST)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024
Medicsight (LSE:MDST)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024
