Grant will support development of novel image-guided laser ablation system in collaboration with Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Duke University Medical Center
Wellesley, Mass., May 14, 2014 – Lumicell, a leader in the field of image-guided cancer surgery, has received a Phase IIB Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The grant will support the company’s expansion into brain and ovarian cancer indications and the further development of its intraoperative hand-held imaging device in collaboration with Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Duke University Medical Center.
“We are very pleased to receive our third NSF award,” said W. David Lee, CEO of Lumicell. “This NSF grant will allow us, in collaboration with MGH, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Duke University Medical Center, to support pre-clinical testing in ovarian and brain cancers and to continue the development of a novel image-guided laser ablation system to quickly and precisely remove microscopic residual cancer. By enabling surgeons to remove sub-millimeter residual cancer, we expect to improve patient survival rates.”
Lumicell is addressing the number one challenge in cancer surgery – the need to remove all cancer cells within the tumor bed during the first surgery. In the field of cancer surgery, the goal is clean margins. Lumicell’s intraoperative detection system provides surgeons with the needed tools to perform a thorough removal of any residual cancer cells in real-time within the tumor bed thus eliminating the need for repeat surgeries due to positive margins or local recurrence.
Lumicell’s surgical system combines a lightweight hand-held single-cell detection imaging device and a cancer-specific molecular imaging agent. This image-guided technology is designed to fit within the existing surgical workflow. The company’s devices and imaging agents are optimized for the specific cancer-type and surgical procedure.
About Lumicell, Inc.
Lumicell is a leader in the field of image-guided cancer surgery. The company is developing a revolutionary intraoperative imaging system that gives surgeons real-time visual feedback of residual cancer in the tumor bed. Lumicell’s surgical system includes a margin-targeted injectable imaging agent and a novel hand-held imaging device with exquisite single-cell detection. The unprecedented ability to see and remove all cancer cells during the initial surgery has the potential to significantly improve surgical outcomes and reduce healthcare costs by eliminating the need for repeat surgeries. Lumicell is initially investigating its imaging system in patients undergoing surgery for breast cancer and sarcomas. Additional future indications will include surgeries for lung, prostate, ovarian, colorectal and brain cancers. For more information, please visit www.lumicell.com.
