Endomagnetics Ltd, a spin out company from the London Centre for Nanotechnology (LCN) at UCL and the University of Houston, has introduced a paradigm-shifting new technology for the staging and treatment of breast cancer.
Technology:
The SentiMAG™ is an ultrasensitive hand-held magnetic probe that can accurately detect low concentrations of clinically introduced nanoparticles, offering unprecedented quality and values of care benefits to patients, doctors and hospital administrators alike.
The SentiMAG™ is used by surgeons to locate the lymph node closest to the tumour, which is a vital step to determining whether the cancer has spread. Following safe and proven medical practice, commercially available and FDA approved imaging contrast dyes are injected into the tumour to provide the magnetic tracking signal. The Endomagnetics solution provides much-needed new flexibility and control in the fight against breast cancer and other cancers too – with melanoma and lung cancer sufferers also likely to benefit from this exciting technological advance.
The SentiMAG™ probe is superior to existing methods for breast cancer lymph node detection in both the quality and the value of the care provision it allows. Its quality advantage comes from its inherent effectiveness and its accessibility, while its value advantage comes from its reduced need for patient hospitalization and simplified work flow.
The SentiMAG™ is a laboratory prototype that has successfully completed initial clinical tests. The company has begun productization activities which will see roll-out of an optimised product in 2009