Gamma Medica-Ideas Announces First Sale of a Dual-Head LumaGEM® Molecular Breast Imaging System
Los Angeles, CA, June 22, 2007 --(PR.com)-- Gamma Medica-Ideas Inc. (GM-I), a leader in providing next-generation medical imaging devices for the pre-clinical and clinical markets, announced today the sale of a dual-headed LumaGEM® system for applications such as Molecular Breast Imaging (MBI). This dual head system is the first of its kind.
Gamma Medica-Ideas’ first dual-headed LumaGEM system is being sold to SILK Diagnostic Imaging of McKinney, Texas. Dr. David Hickey of SILK said "'Gamma Medica-Ideas' dual-head LumaGEM will allow us to offer the finest possible molecular breast imaging to our patients in half the time of a single head system, without any reduction – in fact, with enhancement - of diagnostic capabilities.’’ Dr. Hickey is confident that real progress in medicine is being achieved here through a comfortable and high tech imaging experience for women’s breast imaging, which will become branded and synonymous with a new standard and experience for women's imaging.
Gamma Medica-Ideas’ LumaGEM® is a dedicated gamma camera used for diagnostic imaging, including Molecular Breast Imaging. It has been marketed up to this point as a single-headed system, and such systems are installed in North America and Europe (including University of Tor Vergata and University of Sassari in Italy; Radium Hospital in Oslo, Norway) where they are being used to provide patients with the benefits of functional breast imaging. A prototype dual-head LumaGEM® for Molecular Breast Imaging has been in use at the Mayo Clinic for the last 2 years.
The LumaGEM system features fully solid state digital detection utilizing eV Products™ cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) to provide superior resolution compared with the conventional scintillation camera technology traditionally used in gamma cameras. It also allows minimal dead space at the edges of the image, permitting the closest access to the chest wall.
The new dual-headed LumaGEM camera features a gantry that is very versatile in positioning the patient, with a full range of motion. Gamma Medica-Ideas’ unique patented mounting mechanism, allowing the use of light breast compression, ensures that the radiologist can obtain images using any standard mammography view. LumaGEM provides unparalleled resolution and is designed for optimal use with molecular imaging pharmaceuticals such as Sestamibi and similar agents that localize in neovascular structures for breast cancer detection.
The rationale behind a dual-headed system lies in achieving closest proximity to potential lesions in the breast and cutting the imaging time significantly. In single-headed systems, the fall-off of spatial resolution with distance can cause low-contrast lesions located opposite a single detector to be missed, whereas a second detector can find otherwise missed lesions due to its proximity. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic and GM-I have demonstrated that use of a dual-headed CZT system shows increased sensitivity compared with single-headed systems. "Our ultimate goal is to detect small cancers that may be inconspicuous or invisible on a mammogram for high-risk women with dense breasts," says Dr. O'Connor (Mayo Clinic News, December 16, 2006).
About Gamma Medica-Ideas, Inc.
Gamma Medica-Ideas (GM-I) develops novel technologies to improve patient health through early diagnosis of disease and improved patient treatment, and by enabling new drug discovery. GM-I is dedicated to leading medical imaging into a new digital era with its unique sensor readout systems. The company’s core digital imaging technologies also hold great promise for a new class of solutions for the safety and security markets. GM-I’s products include the LumaGEM®, a dual-headed Molecular Breast Imaging (MBI) based system for early diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. The digital gamma ray imaging technology in LumaGEM offers significant advances in resolution and contrast which has allowed for identification of millimeter sized breast cancers missed by mammography, especially in women with dense breast tissue. GM-I also offers the FLEX TriumphTM pre-clinical imaging platform for medical research and drug development. GM-I’s Triumph system combines PET (X-PET), SPECT (X-SPECT) and CT (X-O) modalities in the world’s first tri-modality system. GM-I also offers the first fully digital PET system (LabPET) as a stand alone option or as part of its FLEX Triumph platform.
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Gamma Medica-Ideas’ first dual-headed LumaGEM system is being sold to SILK Diagnostic Imaging of McKinney, Texas. Dr. David Hickey of SILK said "'Gamma Medica-Ideas' dual-head LumaGEM will allow us to offer the finest possible molecular breast imaging to our patients in half the time of a single head system, without any reduction – in fact, with enhancement - of diagnostic capabilities.’’ Dr. Hickey is confident that real progress in medicine is being achieved here through a comfortable and high tech imaging experience for women’s breast imaging, which will become branded and synonymous with a new standard and experience for women's imaging.
Gamma Medica-Ideas’ LumaGEM® is a dedicated gamma camera used for diagnostic imaging, including Molecular Breast Imaging. It has been marketed up to this point as a single-headed system, and such systems are installed in North America and Europe (including University of Tor Vergata and University of Sassari in Italy; Radium Hospital in Oslo, Norway) where they are being used to provide patients with the benefits of functional breast imaging. A prototype dual-head LumaGEM® for Molecular Breast Imaging has been in use at the Mayo Clinic for the last 2 years.
The LumaGEM system features fully solid state digital detection utilizing eV Products™ cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) to provide superior resolution compared with the conventional scintillation camera technology traditionally used in gamma cameras. It also allows minimal dead space at the edges of the image, permitting the closest access to the chest wall.
The new dual-headed LumaGEM camera features a gantry that is very versatile in positioning the patient, with a full range of motion. Gamma Medica-Ideas’ unique patented mounting mechanism, allowing the use of light breast compression, ensures that the radiologist can obtain images using any standard mammography view. LumaGEM provides unparalleled resolution and is designed for optimal use with molecular imaging pharmaceuticals such as Sestamibi and similar agents that localize in neovascular structures for breast cancer detection.
The rationale behind a dual-headed system lies in achieving closest proximity to potential lesions in the breast and cutting the imaging time significantly. In single-headed systems, the fall-off of spatial resolution with distance can cause low-contrast lesions located opposite a single detector to be missed, whereas a second detector can find otherwise missed lesions due to its proximity. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic and GM-I have demonstrated that use of a dual-headed CZT system shows increased sensitivity compared with single-headed systems. "Our ultimate goal is to detect small cancers that may be inconspicuous or invisible on a mammogram for high-risk women with dense breasts," says Dr. O'Connor (Mayo Clinic News, December 16, 2006).
About Gamma Medica-Ideas, Inc.
Gamma Medica-Ideas (GM-I) develops novel technologies to improve patient health through early diagnosis of disease and improved patient treatment, and by enabling new drug discovery. GM-I is dedicated to leading medical imaging into a new digital era with its unique sensor readout systems. The company’s core digital imaging technologies also hold great promise for a new class of solutions for the safety and security markets. GM-I’s products include the LumaGEM®, a dual-headed Molecular Breast Imaging (MBI) based system for early diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. The digital gamma ray imaging technology in LumaGEM offers significant advances in resolution and contrast which has allowed for identification of millimeter sized breast cancers missed by mammography, especially in women with dense breast tissue. GM-I also offers the FLEX TriumphTM pre-clinical imaging platform for medical research and drug development. GM-I’s Triumph system combines PET (X-PET), SPECT (X-SPECT) and CT (X-O) modalities in the world’s first tri-modality system. GM-I also offers the first fully digital PET system (LabPET) as a stand alone option or as part of its FLEX Triumph platform.
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Contact
Gamma Medica-Ideas
Marie-France Lamoureux
819-212-4422
www.gm-ideas.com
Marie-France Lamoureux
819-212-4422
www.gm-ideas.com
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