Medicsight Welcomes US Initiative to Reimburse CT Colonography for Early Detection of Colorectal Cancer
Friday, 21 December 2007 09:03 |
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™ 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™ and LungCAD™ 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 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)
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™ 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™ and LungCAD™ 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 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)