Devices & Diagnostics, Hospitals

Surgical imaging device that lights up cancer cells could hit Europe this year

An Atlanta, Georgia company developing surgical imaging technology for image-guided cancer surgery is looking to […]

An Atlanta, Georgia company developing surgical imaging technology for image-guided cancer surgery is looking to add $6 million in anticipation of its European product launch.

Spectropath Inc.’s technology is a disposable, handheld, pen-like device used with an agent to make cancerous tissue turn a fluorescent color during tumor removal surgery, said President and CEO Ralph Gaskins Jr.

Complete removal of cancer is a critical predictor of patient survival, so more complete and accurate removal of tissue during surgery could reduce the need for chemotherapy and radiation treatment and improve outcomes, the company says.

The imaging technology was developed at Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology, and spun into a company in 2010. Spectropath has already raised about $417,000 in its first round of funding, according to a recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Gaskins said the product should be on the market in Europe by year’s end, as the company is anticipating receiving the CE Mark in the second or third quarter. The Middle East, South America and Asia will be the next markets the company will target. It will defer seeking U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance until late 2013 or early 2014.

Several institutions and companies are working on developing or commercializing similar surgical imaging technology for cancer, including the University of Pennsylvania, Purdue University and University of Illinois spinoff Diagnostic Photonics. But Gaskins said the device will not compete directly with other devices on the market in Europe.

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