Cancer imaging boosted

Neoprobe, a medical company specialising in cancer detection, has licensed imaging technology from Naviscan in order to improve its cancer detecting technology, says MedCityNews.com.

The medical company will use Naviscan's technology in conjunction with its own gamma-detection systems, which are used to evaluate the potential spread of cancer to lymph node tissues and organs, according to a Naviscan statement.

The combined technology will translate gamma data into a 3D image of a gamma-emitting source, such as a malignant lesion or tumour that has been injected with a radioactive tracing agent. The combined technology could enable surgeons to more precisely target cancerous lymph nodes for removal.

“We believe the three-dimensional gamma imaging technology from Naviscan is a natural extension of our current line of gamma-detection devices and enhances the opportunities in this technology category,” says Mark Pykett, Neoprobe's chief development officer.

According to PRNewswire, while most of the patents in Naviscan's intellectual property portfolio were designed to enable innovation in organ-specific molecular imaging, several more recently allowed patents were devised to further broaden the company's product base.

MedCityNews.com reported that Neoprobe released results from a phase two clinical trial of its radiopharmaceutical tracing agent Lymphoseek and this had been published online in the Annals of Surgical Oncology.

Lymphoseek helps surgeons identify cancerous lymph nodes in patients with breast cancer and melanoma. In the study, the drug identified at least one regional lymph node in 96% of patients when administered intra-operatively.