MKI breakout! while we wait for news from int, check out MKI! news today about exlusive distributor for sonocine.
heading back to the 0.30's imo
Medipattern Named Exclusive Canadian Distributor for SonoCine
Marketwire
The Medipattern Corporation
March 20, 2012 - 06:37:37 AM
Medipattern Named Exclusive Canadian Distributor for SonoCine
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - March 20, 2012) -
Attention: Business/Financial Editors
The Medipattern Corporation ("Medipattern" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:MKI), a pioneer in the development of medical imaging software solutions that help medical practitioners to better understand lesions and critical anatomy, announced today that the Company is the exclusive distributor for SonoCine(R)'s Automated Whole Breast Ultrasound System ("AWBUS") in Canada. AWBUS is used as an adjunct to mammography for breast cancer screening. AWBUS automatically acquires a sequence of ultrasound images which completely capture all of the breast tissue as individually focused slices compared to mammography which captures the breast in two compressed planes. SonoCine recently received Canadian Medical Devices Conformity Assessment System (CMDCAS) approval from Health Canada as a class II medical device and is available for immediate sales in Canada. The first system will be installed this week at Clinique Radiologique Audet in Quebec City. The product is offered on a capital purchase or a fee-per-procedure basis.
AWBUS, when used as an adjunct to mammography, was shown to detect 100 percent more cancers as compared to mammography alone and is particularly effective for women with dense breasts. Furthermore, in that trial of over 4,400 women, radiologist reading ultrasound image data from SonoCine found cancers that were 50 percent smaller on average than the cancers found when reviewing mammography alone. In addition, AWBUS has tripled the detection of cancers that are smaller than 1 cm, which improves dramatically the prognosis of the patients. The positive predictive value (PPV) for the biopsies resulting from the AWBUS exams in this study was 38 percent(1) as compared to typical positive predictive values for mammography alone of approximately 27 percent as reported by Halladay et al in 2010.(2)
"Automated whole breast ultrasound is a major breakthrough in breast cancer screening. It allows me to review breast imaging without the overlapping tissue intrinsic to mammography. Compression of anatomy from various portions of the breast can distort or even hide emerging cancers where AWBUS gives a slice by slice presentation of the breast in a more natural appearance. It is particularly effective in finding cancer in patients with dense breast tissue when used in conjunction with mammography. Dense breast tissue is a key concern as it is estimated that greater than 40 percent of the screening population have focal dense or very dense breasts and past studies have shown mammography to be least effective on dense breast tissue. AWBUS reaches that portion of the population which is not well served by screening with mammography alone," commented Nathalie Duchesne, MD, of Head of Breast Imaging Division at Imagix Medical Network, Breast Radiologist at Clinique Radiologique Audet and Director of The Breast Practices. "The SonoCine System utilizes the ultrasound imaging equipment that we already have in place at our practices. The early cancer detection achievable with the SonoCine AWBUS examination is the result of a number of important system characteristics.
These include: recording of the image data by a technologist for later review by a radiologist, automating and computer controlling the screening of the entire breast and lower axillary lymph nodes and maximizing lesion visualization and detectability by presenting the recorded images in a cine format, thus allowing cancers to be identified by the dynamic disruption of normal tissue architecture between frames. I have had the great pleasure of reviewing it in use in the United States where it has been available since 2008. Recent approval of the system combined with the convenient fee plan enabled our breast center to immediately offer the procedure to our patients.
Currently, automated whole breast ultrasound screening is an optional procedure which the patient may elect to have performed."
"Medipattern has been our collaborative software partner for many years.
Medipattern developed software for our image viewer and we worked together on integrating B-CAD in our software," commented SonoCine founder Kevin Kelly, MD. "They know our system well and can provide superb product support as well as sales. Medipattern has a commitment to excellence that we have admired and respected for years. We are pleased to be bringing the product to the Canadian market through Medipattern."
"Medipattern was initially established to tackle identifying fast moving breast cancer at an earlier stage. Medipattern developed one of the earliest whole breast systems back in 2001, well before its time for market acceptance.
For us, working with SonoCine is a return to that goal. Our team developed a close relationship with the SonoCine team during their product development phase. Today, the market is well positioned and much more appreciative and receptive to the benefits of whole breast ultrasound through SonoCine's dynamic automation technology. Our understanding of the inherent technology used in the device enables us to better support, sell and distribute SonoCine," commented Jeff Collins, CEO of Medipattern. "AWBUS adds to our existing product line and re-emphasizes our commitment to women's health.
B-CAD has been shown to help physicians better characterize breast lesions and under clinical study, reduce the number of breast biopsies while still correctly identifying the cancers.(3) Medipattern will receive commission on a per procedure basis for AWBUS which will commence immediately following the first installation. We are actively working with a dedicated group to establish breast centers in all of the metropolitan cities in Canada using SonoCine. Broadening our women's health product offering will add to revenue growth as we continue through calendar year 2012. In mid-April, the site in Quebec City will broadcast live cases via satellite to The Breast Course 2012 in Lisbon, Portugal; where there will be more than 325 participants from 42 countries. Dr. Duchesne is slated to speak about the benefits of AWBUS at a poster session during the upcoming Canadian Association of Radiologists (CAR) in April. Please visit www.sonocine.com to learn more about this valuable service and hear what patients and doctors are saying about the SonoCine System."
(1) Kevin M. Kelly, MD, Judy Dean, MD, W. Scott Comulada, Sung-Jae Lee, "Breast cancer detection: radiologists' performance using mammography with and without automated whole-breast ultrasound" (https://sonocine.com/Reader_Study.pdf), Eur Radiol (2010) 20: 2557-2564
(2) Halladay, Yankaskas, Bowling and Alexander, "Positive Predictive Value of Mammography: Comparison of Interpretations of Screening and Diagnostic Images by the Same Radiologist and by Different Radiologists" AJR Am J Roentgenol (https://media3.marketwire.com/r/hayaboal). 2010 Sep; 195(3):782-5
(3) O'Donoghue, "Characterization by computer-aided detection (CAD) of breast lesions imaged using ultrasound" (https://media3.marketwire.com/r/odonoghue) Diagnostic Imaging Europe, August 2011
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