BURNABY, BC--(Marketwired - March 17, 2015) - LED Dental Inc. ("LED Dental" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: LMD) (OTCQX: LEDIF) (FRANKFURT: LME), today announced that it is bestowing a gift of $8,000 on the University of British Columbia (UBC) which will be directed to the Dr. Catherine Poh Oral Cancer Research Fund at UBC in support of a specific research project titled "Prevention Strategies in Early Detection and Diagnosis of Oral Cancer in Vietnam." This gift will fund the travel costs to Vietnam in 2015 of two research trainers, to deliver training for various levels of health professionals, including those from the Oncology Hospital and the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Ho Chi Minh City. As a part of a research project, the Company's hand-held medical device, the VELscope® Vx Enhanced Oral Assessment System, which helps with the early discovery of oral cancer and other oral disease, will be the center of the program in Vietnam. LED Dental has also agreed to provide the research project with four VELscope® Vx and cameras as a gift in kind valued at $13,392.
"Oral cancer is one of the most common cancers in Vietnam, more than six times higher than for patients in the US and Canada. One in four patients admitted to the Oncology Hospital is diagnosed with advanced oral cancer. The VELscope® Vx will be used as the first step of the mobile screening program to enhance the visualization of the oral mucosal changes," stated Dr. Catherine Poh, a professor and oral pathologist at UBC and British Columbia Cancer Agency. "With LED Dental's support, we have the opportunity to provide access to oral cancer screening to high-risk communities in Southern Vietnam where the disease burden is high."
"We are pleased that the VELscope® Vx will play a major role in helping to address oral cancer issues in the developing world," stated Dr. David Gane, CEO of LED Medical. "This gift enables us to help people living in countries like Vietnam, where the incidence of oral cancer is not only high but often fatal. We can contribute to improvements in health globally, while finding new markets for the VELscope® Vx."
The Company manufactures and markets the VELscope® Vx Enhanced Oral Assessment System, the dental industry´s leading adjunctive screening device for defining the extent of a wide range of oral mucosal abnormalities -- from viral, fungal and bacterial infections to cancer and pre-cancer. To date, more than 25 million VELscope® Vx exams have been performed by more than 12,000 dentists in 23 countries.
About the UBC Dentistry-Vietnam Oral Health Research Centre
In 2012, the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of British Columbia received an in-kind gift of space valued at $8 million from the Ho Chi Minh City National Hospital of Odonto-Stomatology to create an oral health research centre. Oral cancer occurs frequently in Vietnam often with fatal outcomes. One in 500 babies in Vietnam is born with a cleft lip or cleft palate and 80 percent of children suffer severe tooth decay. The Centre focuses on research areas that include oral cancer, dental caries and craniofacial birth defects and raises local and international researchers' knowledge of oral health care and knowledge transfer.
About LED Medical Diagnostics
Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, LED Medical Diagnostics Inc., through its wholly-owned subsidiaries LED Dental Inc. and LED Dental Ltd, provide dentists and oral health specialists with advanced diagnostic imaging products and software, in addition to the award-winning VELscope® Vx tissue fluorescence visualization technology. Backed by an experienced leadership team and dedicated to a higher level of service and support, LED Dental is committed to providing dental practitioners with the best technology available by identifying and adding leading products to its growing portfolio.
The Company is currently listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSX-V) under the symbol "LMD", the OTCQX under the symbol "LEDIF", as well as the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol "LME". For more information, call 844.952.7327 or visit www.leddental.com/investor-relations.
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Forward-Looking Statement
This press release contains statements which, to the extent that they are not recitations of historical fact, may constitute forward-looking information under applicable Canadian securities legislation that involve risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements or information include statements regarding, but not limited to the Company's future growth strategy, its distribution strategy and product offerings, potential expansion of the Company's technology to other medical applications or markets, or the potential introduction of new technologies by the Company. Persons reading this press release are cautioned that such statements or information are only predictions, and that the Corporation's actual future results or performance may be materially different. Factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those suggested by these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to competition risks, distributor risks, product development risks such as regulatory, design, intellectual property and other factors described in the Corporation's reports filed on SEDAR including its Annual Information Form and financial report for the year ended December 31, 2013. These and other factors should be considered carefully and readers should not place undue reliance on such forward-looking information. All forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by this cautionary statement and there can be no assurance that actual results or developments anticipated by the Company will be realized. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.