| Outcomes Study Reports Use of MelaFind Reduced Benign Biopsies by 61% in Patients at Risk for Melanoma | Outcomes Study Reports Use of MelaFind Reduced Benign Biopsies by 61% in Patients at Risk for Melanoma
IRVINGTON, N.Y., Oct. 21, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MELA Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq:MELA), developer of MelaFind(R) , a non-invasive software-driven image analysis device intended to provide a dermatologist with objective data of clinically irregular pigmented moles when they choose to obtain additional info to help them decide whether or not to biopsy (at the most curable and cost-effective stage), today announced that highly favorable results were obtained in a study using MelaFind to assess lesions in patients at risk for melanoma. The results were included in the 2013 Outcomes for Cleveland Clinic's Dermatology & Plastic Surgery Institute, which was recently released.
In the study, an initial cohort of 166 pigmented lesions on 30 patients were identified as suspicious by visual inspection and dermoscopy. Following the MelaFind data, 64 of those lesions were identified for biopsy and 102 were selected for continued observation. The report stated, "The results showed 61% of the clinically suspicious pigmented lesions in an at-risk population were deferred from biopsy, indicating that MelaFind analysis may prevent overly aggressive biopsy decisions. There may also be an overall improvement in biopsy risk." The study was conducted independently and not sponsored by MELA Sciences, Inc.
"Using the MelaFind system, doctors at this hospital achieved measurable success that adds to our growing body of evidence showing the MelaFind system can reduce health care costs when treating what is today one of the fastest growing cancers," said Rose Crane, MELA Sciences President and CEO. "There are a number of challenges in detecting melanoma and the doctors at this institution using MelaFind exemplify the positive shift in healthcare outcomes that can be achieved when innovative technology is implemented and its progress is quantified."
About MelaFind www.melafind.com
MelaFind(R) is intended to provide a dermatologist with a software-driven image analysis of clinically irregular pigmented moles when they choose to obtain additional info to help decide whether or not to biopsy (at the most curable and cost-effective stage). MelaFind(R) is both FDA Pre-Market Approved (PMA) for the U.S. and has CE Marking certification for the European Union.
The MelaFind(R) system utilizes innovative software-driven technology and state-of-the-art 3-D imaging to non-invasively extract data 2.5 mm below the skin surface from patient's clinically irregular pigmented moles and objectively analyzes them with proprietary algorithms. MelaFind provides important additional perspective to physicians to help them better understand the structural disorganization of a patient's pigmented irregular moles (before cutting the skin) during the evaluation and diagnosis process for melanoma.
About MELA Sciences, Inc. www.melasciences.com
MELA Sciences is a medical technology company dedicated to designing and developing innovative software-driven technologies that assist physicians during the clinical evaluation and detection of skin cancer. MELA Sciences conducted the largest, positive prospective study ever done on the melanoma disease, and is the first and only medical technology company to receive both FDA Pre-Market Approval (PMA) for the U.S. and CE Marking certification for the European Union for its flagship product, MelaFind(R).
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