- White light cystoscopy (“WLC”) is the most commonly used procedure to detect non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (“NMIBC”)
- Despite its prevalence, WLC is not the most effective method and contributes to a high bladder cancer recurrence rate
- Blue light cystoscopy (“BLC”) is a more recent and highly effective method, but the high cost of equipment and skill level has impeded its uptake among hospitals
- Imagin Medical believes the i/Blue(TM) Imaging System , which displays white and blue light images side by side, will address these issues
- It eliminates the need to purchase new cystoscopes. The i/Blue System’s dual-view camera head can attach to almost any cystoscope, lowering the cost of entry
- i/Blue Imaging System is a cost saver for hospitals and patients
The benefits of blue light cystoscopy (“BLC”) have been documented since 2010, when the FDA first approved the use of hexaminolevulinate HCL (“HAL”), an imaging agent that, when absorbed by cancerous cells, distinguishes them from healthy cells when exposed to blue light. However, despite this knowledge being in the public domain and the American Urology Association recommending the use of blue light, its uptake in the visualization, location, and subsequent resection of tumors in the bladder has been slow.
According to Imagin Medical (CSE: IME) (OTCQB: IMEXF), a company focusing on establishing a new standard of care in visualizing cancer, “Despite the American Urological Association’s recommendation in favor of using BLC, the technology is used in 10% of such procedures because of the high cost of equipment and the challenges surgeons face in switching back and forth between white light and blue light images to locate and resect the tumors,” CEO Jim Hutchens wrote in an article published on HealthTech Hot Spot (https://nnw.fm/fjyeD).
The high cost of BLC equipment has influenced the reliance on white light, which is responsible for a high recurrence of over 50% in patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (“NMIBC”). NMIBC is the most common form of bladder cancer, with between 70% and 75% of all cases falling into this category. The other type is muscle-invasive bladder cancer (“MICB”) and occurs when NMIBC progresses. Further, over 600,000 people continuously live in fear of recurrence.
While the American Cancer Society notes that the survival rate for patients with NMIBC is 96% (https://nnw.fm/V2aan), the high recurrence rate means that in the future, all patients must be monitored and more than 50% need surgery again if and when the bladder cancer resurfaces. The high cost of treatment further makes the alarming statistics more disconcerting.
The average cost of bladder cancer treatment was $65,158 in 2005, while the lifetime cost of treating bladder cancer ranged between $99,270 and $120,684 for the same period. With the increase in the inflation rate and cost of living since then, the more recent figures are likely higher. Notably, 60% of the average cost went into surveillance and treatment of recurrences (https://nnw.fm/taoUj). This means that white light cystoscopy (“WLC”) contributes to the high the cost of treating bladder cancer, yet hospitals are reluctant to switch to blue light because the equipment is expensive and a higher level of training is required. In this regard, the cost of bladder cancer treatment is high for both the patients and the hospitals.
However, Imagin Medical Inc. aims to rectify this problem with the i/Blue(TM) Imaging System, its first product in its quest to establish new ways of visualizing cancer. The i/Blue Imaging System addresses the shortfalls of both white and blue light cystoscopies. It uses a dual-view camera head that attaches to any cystoscope and houses two highly sensitive cameras with sophisticated optical filters. that separate white and blue light images. This product goes a step further by displaying the separated white and blue light images side by side. With the i/Blue Imaging System, a physician need not alternate between these two images when conducting surgeries, as is the case with existing BLC equipment. As such, the product addresses the limitations associated with BLC.
By displaying the blue light image that shows the highlighted cancer cells alongside the white light image that shows the full landscape of the bladder, the i/Blue Imaging System will provide surgeons with improved visualization to locate and resect tumors. The overall result is a reduction in the cost of treatment as detailed in a report by Urology Times, which showed that using BLC in conjunction with white light “lowered costs by $4,660 over five years compared with use of white light cystoscopy alone” (https://nnw.fm/0CjC3).
Further, the i/Blue Imaging System’s camera head can be attached to any cystoscope, meaning that a hospital need not buy new cystoscope to use the blue light fluorescent technology. Imagin Medical’s product, which will create a win-win scenario for everyone involved, is currently in the manufacturing stage. following the selection of a contract manufacturer in late 2020 (https://nnw.fm/BIFbm).
For more information, visit the company’s website at www.ImaginMedical.com.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to IMEXF are available in the company’s newsroom at https://nnw.fm/IMEXF
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