Luis: Here's a copy of the article Curt linked to...
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January 12, 1998
Early detection system
Wilmington company says its technology spots breast cancer earlier
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Jay Fitzgerald
WILMINGTON--Jack Nelson said his company's magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI) system is a powerful weapon in detecting the early signs of breast
cancer that can't be spotted by conventional mammography and ultrasound.
It's not a far-fetched boast from the chief executive officer of Caprius
Inc., the $3.5 million company launched six months ago by the merger of
two companies specializing in breast cancer detection.
Besides its ability to distinguish cancerous tissue, the system, called
Aurora, has a head start on the competition: It's the only U.S. Food and
Drug Administration-approved breast scanning system to use MRI
technology.
Even more critical, doctors say, Aurora could have far-reaching
potential in saving lives. One in eight women will develop breast cancer
in her lifetime, according to the American Cancer Institute.
"It has picked up things we weren't aware of originally," said Dr.
Norman Sadowsky, director of the Boston-based Faulkner Sagoff Breast
Imaging and Diagnostic Centre, one of five medical centers across the
country testing the new machine. "We hope it will detect cancer earlier
and better and contribute to saving lives by finding earlier cancer.
We'll continually improve this with our feedback."
Also in its favor is the system's relatively low cost--$600,000 versus
$2 million for other MRI systems--and its small size, which enables it
to be located within a breast imaging center.
"If we're going to learn to use this equipment, it has to be done in
conjunction with other imaging modalities, such as ultrasound and
mammography, and then correlate it with biopsies," said Sadowsky.
At Faulkner, the only Massachusetts site to use Aurora, about 200 women
at high risk will be screened starting in February. Once completed,
Sadowsky said the center can embark on a national study of the MRI
system.
Aurora has the ability to detect tumors and abnormalities through dense
breast tissue. It can also identify rupture or leakage of breast
implants and the extent of tumors or lesions in breasts prior to
surgery. That way surgeons can map out the routes to see if lumpectomy
or mastectomy is necessary, said Sadowsky.
With 26 million mammography screenings a year, Nelson sees unlimited
potential to reduce both health care costs and instances of breast
cancer.
Women typically undergo X-ray mammography, ultrasound and biopsy when
unusual lumps are found in their breasts, a process that can cost
thousands of dollars. The Aurora system used in conjunction with
conventional mammography, could eliminate the need for costly,
unnecessary biopsy procedures, said Nelson.
About 15 percent of mammograms are ambiguous, because the images are
blocked by dense tissue. An X-ray can't differentiate between a fibroid,
or other kinds of scar tissue. Aurora can.
"Those are clarion calls for increased screening," said Nelson. "These
are problems that conventional mammography can't address and there is a
toxicity effect of mammography. We eliminate that toxicity."
Betty Dickson, who was diagnosed in May 1996 with breast cancer and
underwent a lumpectomy, called the innovative MRI "another tool to use
in addition to the mammogram."
"You have to take advantage of any technology you can to show if you're
in the beginning stages of cancer, not advanced," she said.
According to Dickson, the Aurora system, which places a patient
face-down on a stretcher and enters the machine feet first, does not
have "the claustrophobic feeling you get from conventional MRI. You can
watch what they're doing."
The patient is surrounded by special radio-frequency coils that examine
the breast area without compression, as in the case of mammograms. There
are no X-rays or radiation, but a magnet that highlights hydrogen
molecules in the body.
The six-month-old Caprius Inc., based in Wilmington, arose from the
merger of the Boston-based Advanced NMR Systems Inc. and Advanced
Mammography Systems Inc. It employs 65.
Sales this past year totaled $3.5 million, much of it from related
rehabilitation services in Springfield and Holyoke. General Electric
Medical Systems invested $5.1 million in the system last August.
Plans call for opening three more Aurora MRI centers over the next 90
days, and 10 more to follow in 1998. The sites include Englewood
Hospital in Englewood, N.J., Magee Hospital in Pittsburgh and the
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences at Little Rock, Ark.
Nelson said the centers would either be company-owned or comprehensive
breast imaging centers, including biopsy, ultrasound, X-ray as well as
the Aurora MRI.
"The market for opening up centers is there," said Nelson. "There are 50
to 100 cities that could provide sufficient flow for revenue stream and
benefit flow. Right now it's an open field. The opportunities are rich."
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As news like this continues to surface, it will slowly build interest in CAPR and momentum in its stock price. Let's hope they can land a few of those next ten sites soon and make additional announcements.
Regards,
Warren |
