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 ColonCAD™ 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 ColonCAD™ 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."

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
ashley.tapp@abchurch-group.com
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7398 7700

Stephanie Cuthbert
stephanie.cuthbert@abchurch-group.com
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7398 7700
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 ColonCAD™ and LungCAD™ 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 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 ACRIN
The American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN) is a national cancer research organization sponsored and funded by the US National Cancer Institute.