welcomes US initiative
December 21 2007 - 10:06AM
UK Regulatory
RNS Number:5453K
Medicsight Plc
21 December 2007
Press Release 21 December 2007
Medicsight PLC
("Medicsight" or "the Company")
Medicsight welcomes US initiative to reimburse CT colonography
for early detection of colorectal cancer
Medicsight PLC (AIM:MDST), industry leader in the development of Computer-Aided
Detection (CAD) and image analysis software which assists in the early detection
of disease, welcomes the initiative by Barbara Cubin, Republican Representative
for Wyoming, to introduce legislation to increase patient access to Computed
Tomography Colonography (CTC). CTC is the innovative screening test for
colorectal cancer that has the potential to save thousands of lives.
Cubin's bill (H.R. 4879, the Virtual Screening for Cancer Act (VSCA) of 2007)
includes CTC as a colorectal cancer screening test covered under Medicare. CTC,
also known as "virtual colonoscopy" (VC), offers a non-invasive and
cost-effective means of detecting early stage cancer of the colon. In addition
to expanding Medicare coverage to include virtual colonoscopy, Cubin's bill
would also make CTC exams part of the "Welcome to Medicare" program in which
Medicare beneficiaries would have their personal co-payments for virtual
colonoscopies waived if the exam is conducted within the first six months of
enrolment in Medicare, as is currently the case for optical colonoscopy
examinations and mammograms. Cubin, who is a Member of the House Energy and
Commerce Health Subcommittee, has worked with the medical community to craft
this legislation. Democrat Representative Edolphus Towns (New York) joined Cubin
as an original co-sponsor of her bill.
In a statement issued yesterday Cubin said: "Colorectal cancer is the third
leading cause of cancer death in the United States today. Early detection is the
most effective method we have to combat this killer. Unfortunately, too many
Americans shy away from traditional colonoscopy exams because of the discomfort
associated with it. Virtual colonoscopies provide a more comfortable screening
alternative that will lead to more patients getting the treatment they need."
David Sumner, Medicsight's Chief Executive, said: "Two recent major studies have
confirmed that CT colonography is at least as sensitive and accurate as
conventional optical colonoscopy as a screening tool for colorectal cancer.
These results are the basis for initiatives such as the Cubin bill to introduce
routine reimbursement for CT colonography for screening those aged 50 or more
who are most at risk of developing this devastating condition. Medicsight's
ColonCAD(TM) software, which can be used with any 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."
- 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-headquartered, 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.
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 CTC and virtual colonoscopy
CTC (also known as virtual colonoscopy) is a medical imaging procedure that uses
x-rays and computers to produce two- and three-dimensional images of the colon.
The CTC exam is far less invasive than traditional methods used to detect colon
and bowel diseases and patients do not require sedation. Recent scientific
literature suggests that virtual colonoscopy, as a front-line screening method,
is a cost-effective complement to the traditional optical colonoscopy that is
still required to remove dangerous colon polyps when they are detected.
National US Computerised Tomography (CT) Colonography Trial (ACRIN study 6664)
The preliminary results of the National US Computerised Tomography (CT)
Colonography Trial (ACRIN study 6664), released on 28 September, demonstrated
convincingly that CT colonography is at least as sensitive and specific as
conventional optical colonoscopy in detecting adenomas of 1 cm diameter or
larger. A few days later another major study(1) was published in the prestigious
New England Journal of Medicine with a similar outcome. These compelling results
from two large well-controlled studies are expected to lead to widespread
adoption of CT colonography (also known as virtual colonoscopy) as routine
primary screening for colorectal cancer.
--------------------------
(1) Kim et al., "CT Colonography versus Colonoscopy for the Detection of
Advanced Neoplasia", NEJM 357, 1403-1412 (4 October 2007)
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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