An Update on FF-OCT's Light CT from LLTECH

A few weeks ago, we showcased Paris based DAMAE MEDICAL, a two-years old startup preparing for the launch of a LC-OCT skin imaging system. I thought it would be fair to give an update on the progress of 7-year old LLTECH, also  a Paris based company offering imaging systems based on the very elegant FF-OCT optical method.

Lead by talented CEO Bertrand the Poly and world-class scientist and leader CSO Pr. Claude Boccara, the company has perfected the Light CT system over the past years into a "plug-and-play"imaging system that simplifies the sample/tissue handling and preparation process thanks to an innovative 'cassette' that holds the tissue ( for instance, directly in the surgical room) and plugs directly into the imaging system.

As a reminder, Full-field optical coherence tomography (FFOCT) offers a fast and non-destructive method of obtaining "en-face" images of biological tissues at high resolution (1μm in all 3 directions), approaching traditional histological sections.

The LLTECH team is gathering more and more clinical evidence as they build their value proposition as a stain-free digital pathology system.The product is available for sale as a research only use.

Most interestingly, a significant enhancement with "time-resolved" FF-OCT is in the works, allowing frequency-resolved imaging ! now... that is exciting as one of the weaknesses of all these OCT techniques is the lack of specificity for any given biological / cellular feature ( this is just like ultrasounds.... OCT "sees"structures"and optical-index discontinuities very well, but is poorly sensitive to chemistry".  The Method is called Dynamic FF-OCT or D-FFOCT and is another brain child of Pr. Boccara and PhD candidate Clement Apelian (read publications here). Below is an image of a cancerous skin tissue (mouse) where T-cells are tagged in red because of their specific frequency response. ( Tumor are in dark green and we can see all the T-cells around and in between the tumors, in movement in the extra-tumoral collagen matrix).

In the meantime, LLTECH is raising funds both in the US and Europe. LLTech is currently listed on PropelX www.propelx.com a US funding platform linked to the MIT making the investment easy.

French DAMAE MEDICAL prepares LC-OCT Skin System

Two-years old startup DAMAE MEDICAL (Paris,France) is already an award-winning young company. Under the leadership of a charismatic female CEO, Anais Barut (who proudly posts her pictures with former president Francois Hollande...), the company readies to launch an innovative LC-OCT hand-held skin inspection system, called OLIV.

To our desapointment, LC-OCT does not stand for Low Cost OCT! But we are really excited about the quality of the LC-OCT images produced as the optical method is strategically placed between scanning OCT and Confocal microscopy. Offering a X-Y, and Z resolution of ~1micron, even at 800 micron depth, the technique offers Z-slicing or virtual biopsie and can rebuild X-Y "en face" virtual biopsies.

Real-time imaging seems to be compatible with usual motion artifacts due to patient upper limb movement during exams, which is a good news.

Target markets include dermatology virtual-biopsy tissue/skin assesment for the triage (and hopefully soon diagnostic) of both melanoma and  carcinoma.The product is not approved by FDA , nor commercialized in the US, but the team is looking for clinical partners in the US to get on-board ( "Contact" on their webpage).

In the meantime, the usual "non-regulated" markets could be a nice way to start.We are thinking about Research only Use for Skin-condition drug development, cosmeceuticals (obviously) and Tissue / biopsy quality control.

So in short:very cool. Cannot wait to see the face of the current players when the product hits the US market. If anyone wnats to join me to invest in the company.... let me know.

French Start up ANAPIX Tackles the Holy Grail

French Start-up ANAPIX is currently incubated by the Technology Accelerator and incubator or Mareilles and has ambitious plans to takle the Holi Grail: a iPhone enabled image capture system...coupled to cloud-based image analysis and calculators to offer Clinical Decision support to dermatologists for the Skin cancer.

This is a very ambitious project, will challenges all along the technology workflow... and the care and regulatory trajectories.  A dozen of dermatologists are piloting the system in France.

ANAPIX is current;y looking for partners to take the concept to the next steps. Please reach out to them via www.sattse.com

The clinical tomograph MPTflex™ is a novel skin imaging device

(This was announced April 2011... but we missed it...better late than never)

The clinical tomograph MPTflex™, which was developed by the German university spin-off Jenlab GmbH, is a novel skin imaging device that overcomes the poor resolution of skin imaging methods such as ultrasound, optical coherence tomography (OCT) and reflection. ( Note: Do not agree on the comment on OCT... see our blog on the LLTECH Full Field OCT system)

By using two-photon technology, the system's high-resolution skin imaging provides marker-free optical biopsies.

The tomograph is a compact system, with a flexible scan head that includes two detectors for simultaneous measurement of autofluorescence and the second-harmonic generation, used mainly for the early detection of melanoma and diagnostics of dermatological disorders. Providing a fast microscopic view into the skin without any surgery, single cancer cells, as well as elastin fibers and nanoparticles, can be imaged in vivo, and skin aging can be measured. The MPTflex™ tomograph is based on the two-photon effects predicted by the 1963 German-American Nobel Prize laureate Maria Goeppert-Mayer.

The MPTflex™ received the 2011 Prism Award for Photonics Innovation in January. Co-founded in 1999 by Prof. Dr. Karsten König, Jenlab’s primary goals are the development and the establishment of innovative bioinstrumentation based on Femtosecond Laser Technology for biotechnology, cell biology and medicine. More than 2,000 patients have already been investigated at clinics in Irvine, Brisbane, London, Modena, and Berlin. In the U.S., first clinical trials have been conducted at the University of California this year.

JenLab is translating the technology to markets. See the product brochure here and the product picture below. the Product is CE Marked.

Vivascan, by Caliber I.D.

VivaScan is a safe, painless and simple in-office procedure that provides cellular images to enable your doctor to make a diagnosis and decide on treatment. 

With harmless laser light, VivaScan produces clear images of your skin cells that reveal a level of detail that, until now, was only possible with a traditional invasive biopsy. 

Because VivaScan does not damage the skin the way a biopsy does, it can take repeat images of the same area over time. With pain-free skin imaging, precise image quality, and fast results, VivaScan gives you a new level of comfort and confidence when caring for your skin.

The VivaScan® software makes it easy to schedule patients for examinations, perform imaging examinations on one or more lesions during a visit, review, and report on images obtained during an examination. VivaScan® operates each device in the VivaScope® product line. It is used on stand-alone devices, on VivaScope® imaging and reading systems connected by intranet within the same facility, and on systems at different facilities connected by way of the VivaNet® digital telepathology network.

The VivaScan® software is designed to accommodate a wide variety of customer needs, from a solo practitioner to an imaging group with several VivaScope® systems and access to more than one dermatopathologist.

CALIBER I.D. presents a full product line for Skin Imaging / Vivascope systems:

VivaScope® systems offer clinicians and researchers in the fields of medicine and product development the possibility of a real- time, noninvasive optical biopsy of the skin.

VivaScope® 1500 and VivaScope® 3000 systems are FDA 510(k) cleared and have become an integral part of many dermatology clinics and medical institutions for the diagnosis of skin cancers and diseases, and for the evaluation of wound-healing processes and treatment outcomes.

VivaScope® 1500 Multilaser systems are well suited for a wide variety of product development applications for skin care, and have been used by scientists world-wide for the evaluation of cosmeceuticals and pharmaceuticals for more than a decade.

Benefits of VivaScope® Systems:

•Quasi-histologic, cellular imaging comparable to histopathology

•Noninvasive, repeatable imaging; no tissue damage

•Skin tumor diagnosis with high sensitivity and specificity

•Real-time visualization of blood flow and inflammatory processes

•Therapeutic monitoring of the same area of skin over time

•Quantitative data for skin layer thickness and cell sizes

•FDA 510(k) cleared medical imaging technology

3Derm: Engineering undergrads win $100,000 prize for skin imaging device

A team of rising juniors at Yale beat out graduate and undergraduate students from around the country in a national competition to create novel technology for improved healthcare delivery.

Elizabeth Asai, Nick Demas and Elliot Swart won the prize for their development of an early melanoma detection device called a "Stereoscopic Plug-and-Play Dermatoscope and Web Interface." 

Their small, user-friendly, low-cost camera can be used by a doctor or patient to capture and upload 3D pictures to a web-based directory that dermatologists can access to remotely analyze and monitor the topography and volume changes of skin moles.

Next.. they create their company 3Derm:

3Derm combines breakthrough imaging hardware with secure cloud-based software to improve patient outcomes and reduce costs.

Congratulations!

DermaCompare: "designed to revolutionize the process of diagnosing melanoma" (...Really ?)

Out of Israel, DermaCompare, a market-centric spin off from Esmeral Medical, is promoting a Cloud-based sophisticated image processing technology fro skin imaging. The skin lesions detection software solution is designed to revolutionize the process of diagnosing  melanoma, the major cause of skin cancer related mortality. 

DermaCompare supports early stage diagnosis of skin cancer by providing constant monitoring of suspicious skin lesions using various  imaging methods, thereby significantly increasing the chances of treating the condition, as well as lowering the cost and complexity of treatment.


The product is not FDA approved and detailed information / case studies / performance of the system is not very accessible. We would love to know more ( leave a comment).

Their YouTube clip provides some fuzzy screen captures, some insights on the technology platform ( " we use aerial defense technology to save 420 million people from skin cancer") but does not discuss clinical efficacy nor business models.