Spectrascience’s Optical Biopsy System Performs Well in Study

San Diego, Calif.-based SpectraScience Inc., a medical device company that uses light technologies to detect and diagnose cancers, reported that the WavSTAT4 Optical Biopsy System was once again found to exceed the clinical guidelines adopted by EU and U.S. medical societies for the diagnosis of small and diminutive colorectal polyps during screening colonoscopies. Dr. Timo Rath of the University of Erlangen-Nuremburg in Germany presented the findings at United European Gastroenterology Week in October.

“This study once again underscores the clinical accuracy of the WavSTAT4 for diagnosing small polyps when used in colorectal cancer screening,” said said Michael Oliver, president and CEO of SpectraScience. “Optical characterization of these polyps in real time is highly desired in order to permit the adoption of medical strategies that would avoid the cost of traditional pathology and prevent unnecessary polypectomies. Unlike image-based technologies that are consistently shown not to work adequately unless in the hands of experts and require complex human interpretations of the data, our system works equally well with clinicians of virtually all experience levels. Our system is fast, easy to use and requires very little training for the clinician. It does not require the clinician to change the colonoscopy procedure. The WavSTAT Optical Biopsy System gives to all clinicians a diagnostic capability equal to that of experts.”

Spectrascience makes spectrophotometry systems capable of determining whether tissue is normal, pre-cancerous or cancerous without physically removing tissue from the body.