MDST Medicsight

RNS Number:5672P
Medicsight Plc
07 March 2008


Press Release                                                       7 March 2008


                                 Medicsight PLC

                        ("Medicsight" or "the Company")

                American Cancer Society endorses CT colonography


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 decision by the American Cancer
Society (ACS) to add Computerised Tomography Colonography.("CTC") to its colon
cancer screening guidelines:

The ACS said "Provided that advanced, proven techniques are employed in the
clinical setting, CTC is included in the guidelines as an option for colorectal
cancer screening and prevention in average-risk adults aged 50 years and
older,".

The guidelines reflect the growing endorsement for CTC screening, also known as
virtual colonoscopy ("VC"), by the ACS and the ACR, and by the three major
gastrointestinal societies: the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA),
the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (AGSE), and the American
College of Gastroenterology (ACG).

David Sumner, Chief Executive of Medicsight, said: "We are delighted that the
ACS has decided to include CTC in the panel of tests that physicians have at
their disposal when screening for colorectal cancer.  The ACS endorsement is
expected to lead to routine reimbursement for CTC and thereby to a material
increase in the use of CTC for screening those populations who are most at risk
of developing this devastating condition.  Medicsight's ColonCADTM software for
CT imaging equipment helps radiologists to interpret CT scans and to identify
early-stage lesions.  We expect the Company and its CAD software to be an
important beneficiary of wider use of CTC screening."

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the US.
However when detected early the survival rate is high.  Those most at risk, aged
50 or older, are recommended to be screened regularly.  However as the
conventional optical colonoscopy procedure, involving the insertion of a
flexible metal tube into the colon is very uncomfortable less than half actually
undergo colonoscopy.  CTC scanning, which Medicsight has honed with its superior
ColonCADTM software, offers patients with an alternative routine screening
method for early detection, which is non-invasive and more comfortable.

The guidelines, titled Screening and Surveillance for the Early Detection of
Colorectal Cancer and Adenomatous Polyps, 2008, were jointly released by the
ACS, the U.S. Multi-Society Task Force on Colorectal Cancer, and the American
College of Radiology.  Under these guidelines the accepted testing options for
the early detection of colorectal cancer include the following:


*  CTC (recommended every five years);
*  colonoscopy (recommended every 10 years);
*  flexible sigmoidoscopy (recommended every five years);
*  double contrast barium enema (recommended every five years);
*  annual guaiac fecal occult blood testing (gFOBT); and
*  annual faecal immunochemical test (FIT).


The ACS decision to add CTC to the guidelines is based on the outcomes of recent
large clinical studies confirming that CTC is comparable to optical colonoscopy
for detecting cancer and polyps of significant size when state-of-the-art
techniques are applied.  Positive clinical studies published in recent months
include the National CT Colonography Trial (ACRIN 6664), research from the
University of Wisconsin Medical School in Madison published in the New England
Journal of Medicine, the IMPACT trial from Italy, and the Munich Colorectal
Cancer Prevention Trial.

Dr. Perry Pickhardt, an associate professor from the University of Wisconsin
Medical School and a widely recognised expert on CTC, said: "This exciting
development should lead to widespread reimbursement for CTC screening by
third-party payors, which is the final remaining barrier to actual large-scale
implementation throughout the US."


                                    - 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. Medicsight's ColonCADTM and LungCADTM 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 ColonCADTM and LungCADTM 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.




                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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