VisionGate Tests Cancer Diagnostic at Tel Hashomer

VisionGate has entered into a collaboration with the Sheba Medical Center l to evaluate whether its LuCED(TM) test can reduce false positive results when used in conjunction with x-ray CT screening for early lung cancer. LuCED(TM) is used in tandem with VisionGate’s automated 3D cell imaging platform, the Cell-CT(TM), which generates high-resolution biosignatures from intact cells using a sputum sample. These biosignatures are automatically analysed using the company’s predictive analytics to indicate the presence or absence of cancer cells. In the collaboration with Sheba Medical Center, VisionGate’s LuCED(TM) is being evaluated along with other non-invasive measures to determine whether they can be used in conjunction with x-ray CT lung cancer scans to reduce the number of false positive results.   LuCED is used in tandem with VisionGate’s automated 3D cell imaging platform, the Cell-CT™, which generates high-resolution biosignatures from intact cells using a sputum sample. These biosignatures are automatically analyzed using the company’s proprietary predictive analytics to indicate the presence or absence of cancer cells. The proposed first application of LuCED is as an adjunct to x-ray CT lung cancer screening. The National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) landmark National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) of more than 53,000 current and former smokers showed that low-dose helical CT screening of these high-risk individuals reduced lung cancer deaths by 20% compared to standard chest x-rays. However, the broad utility of the approach is hampered by the high rate of false positive results seen in the study—according to the NCI, more than 96% of the positive results from low-dose CT screening over three rounds of testing turned out to be false positive findings. These false positive test results are especially problematic because they require follow-up care that results in unnecessary invasive procedures for many patients and significantly higher costs for the healthcare system as a whole, as well as causing potential psychological trauma to patients. These results were reported in the August 4, 2011 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine. In the collaboration with Sheba Medical Center, VisionGate’s LuCED is being evaluated along with other non-invasive measures to determine whether they can be used in conjunction with x-ray CT lung cancer scans to reduce the number of false positive results. Nir Peled, MD, PhD, FCCP, who is Head of the Thoracic Cancer Research and Detection Center at Sheba, is conducting the study with 200 patients with pulmonary nodules detected by x-ray CT scans where the diagnosis remains unclear. Dr. Peled noted, “The NLST study results confirm that x-ray CT scanning can detect lung cancers at their earliest stage and save lives; however, the associated high rate of false positive findings is likely to restrict its broad use. Our clinical study is exploring whether VisionGate’s LuCED technology used in conjunction with x-ray CT scanning can be used to distinguish true positive from false positive results. I look forward to helping to determine whether LuCED has the potential to serve as an adjunct to improve the accuracy of CT lung cancer screening results and thereby help make its life-saving potential available to many more patients.”