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NewswireToday - /newswire/ -
Sharon, MA, United States, 07/19/2007 - Lucid, Inc. today announced the formation of an association of European diagnostic readers whose objective is to provide image reading services for private European dermatology practices using Lucid’s VivaScope® in-vivo confocal imaging technology.
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Lucid’s VivaScope confocal imagers can non-invasively image skin in-vivo with cellular resolution. This potentially permits pathologic diagnosis without the need to excise tissue. The European diagnostic readers will validate the procedure utilizing Lucid’s VivaNet™ telemedicine information system to transfer and manage clinical data between the private practice imaging sites and the locations of diagnostic readers.
The diagnostic readers involved in the association include some of the World’s leading in vivo confocal imaging medical researchers. Initial participants in the Association for the Vivanet study include: Dr. Salvador González (Ramon y Cajal Madrid); Dr. Giovanni Pellacani (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia); Dr. Josep Malvehy (Hospital Clinic. Barcelona and CEDILP), Dr. Susana Puig (Hospital Clinic. Barcelona and CEDILP); Dr. Ralph Braun (University Hospital Zürich); Dr. Marco Ardigo (San Gallicano Dermatological Institute, Rome); and Dr. Rainer Hofmann-Wellenhof (Medical University Graz). It is anticipated that additional European medical professionals will join Lucid’s diagnostic reader’s association as confocal imaging technology becomes routine practice in dermatology offices throughout Europe.
The diagnostic readers in the association are skilled in the diagnosis of a wide range of skin diseases including skin cancer, precancerous skin conditions and inflammatory skin diseases. Since the diagnostic readers operate in the networked environment of the VivaNet, consultations and second opinions among these experts is straightforward. The association will launch its pilot activities in the September of 2007 as the initial European confocal imaging sites come online. Full implementation of the association’s diagnostic reading services is expected to begin by the end of calendar year 2007.
The combination of Lucid’s confocal imagers and its VivaNet medical information system is a solution Lucid has pursued over the past several years. The launch of VivaNet in August, will make this combination a reality for patients and physicians alike.
Confocal Imaging Is Entering Routine Clinical Use in Europe
“I routinely use Lucid’s non-invasive confocal imagers in my dermatology practice here in Madrid, as do several of my colleagues involved in the European diagnostic readers association.“ stated Dr. Salvador González, a pioneer in the use of in vivo confocal microscopy for the analysis of skin diseases. “The availability of this network of expert confocal diagnostic readers via Lucid’s VivaNet should lead to growing acceptance of this technology by private dermatology practices in the Europe.”
“The availability of Lucid’s VivaNet™ system should enable the routine use of confocal imaging in dermatology practices,” said Jay Eastman, chairman and CEO of Lucid, Inc. “It allows dermatologists and confocal diagnostic readers to easily exchange medical information in a secure environment, thus allowing routine collaboration between these medical professionals in difficult to diagnose cases. Just as MRI and CT scans have largely eliminated the need for routine ‘exploratory surgery’, in-vivo reflectance confocal microscopy may one day eliminate the need for many routine invasive skin biopsies,” Eastman said.
Skin cancer is a significant concern in Europe, as it is in the United States and Australia. For example, according to the European Network of Cancer Registries (ENCR), approximately 59,400 new cases of melanoma occurred in Europe in 2003 (the latest year for which data is readily available) and about 15,900 deaths occurred as a result, a death rate nearly twice that of the United States. The average 5-year survival of patients diagnosed with melanoma in Europe throughout the period 1978-1989 increased in males from 59% to 70% and in women from 76% to 84%.
About Lucid, Inc.
Lucid Inc. (lucid-tech.com), based in Rochester, New York, is a medical device and information company dedicated to creating innovative cellular imaging technology and using the Internet to securely deliver accurate, real-time VivaScope® cellular resolution images to medical professionals. When coupled with its digital VivaNet™ system, the company’s ability to image in-vivo (living) tissue will aid medical practitioners and pathologists in skin cancer screening with clarity, speed and patient comfort.
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