Clinical Imaging
SoftScan optical breast imaging device
According to the Canadian Cancer Society, more than 22,000 women were diagnosed with breast cancer in Canada in 2006, and an estimated 5,300 will die from the disease. Conventional mammographies miss up to 30 percent of cancers.
Traditional anatomical breast imaging, such as mammography, does not capture biochemistry, physiology or the patient’s response to therapy until the anatomy changes. It has “blind spots” that fundamentally limit its diagnostic capabilities.
The SoftScan optical breast imaging device helps to solve the problems of characterizing lesions by building upon mammography with important biomarkers of:
- Angiogenesis, which correlates with malignant growth;
- Metabolism, which correlates with malignant, benign and normal physiology; and
- Microstructure, which correlates with microscopic histology.
Compared with conventional imaging systems, SoftScan offers many clear advantages.
Benefits to patients
- No painful compression of the breast.
- No harmful ionizing radiation.
- Early characterization of anomalies.
- Improved diagnosis and quality of care.
- Reduced need for invasive and, in some cases, unnecessary biopsies.
Benefits to health professionals
- Higher degree of precision in diagnosis and treatment.
- Ability to image patients as often as necessary without exposure to ionizing radiation.
- Ability to image patients with radio-dense breast tissue, typical of younger women and those who are on hormonal replacement therapy.
- Ability to distinguish malignant tumours from benign tumours.
- Ability to monitor breast cancer treatments.
- Ability to personalize treatment.
- Ability to monitor neo-adjuvant therapy.
Benefits to health care providers
- Increased overall productivity.
- Reduced treatment costs through efficient monitoring.
- Lower operational costs.