LONDON, July 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Dune Medical Devices (Caesarea, Israel) has been honored with the 2007 Frost & Sullivan European Technology Innovation of the Year Award in surgical oncology for its novel intraoperative breast cancer probe. Using Radio Frequency (RF) Spectroscopy, the innovative device provides physicians during surgeries with the malignancy status of breast cancer margins in real-time.
Following lumpectomy, cancer patients found to have positive (malignant) surgical margins typically require a second surgery, with added expense and trauma, to reshave tumor sites for additional tissue removal. The Dune handheld probe holds significant promise to reduce re-excision procedures, improve patient outcomes and minimize surgical expenses.
“Dune’s real-time tissue probe and portable console have the potential to satisfy a major unmet surgical oncology need,” notes Frost & Sullivan Research Director Girish Solanki. “The device provides doctors with simple, real-time determination of margin malignancy status at the desired locus while the patient is still in the operating room. It helps improve surgical accuracy, allowing doctors to meet procedure goals more easily without the need for a second surgery.”
“Today, breast conservation surgery aims to excise tumors completely, along with a rim of surrounding healthy tissue. However, determining the status of this tissue is difficult, and a large number of women must undergo a re-excision to achieve desired surgical results. This is because an accurate and reliable method for accessing margin status intraoperatively has not existed until now. The Dune probe fills an important need,” adds Solanki.
A recent study found that the Dune probe detected 86 percent of positive tumor margins that were otherwise missed by current standard of care, potentially allowing surgeons to reshave the tumor cavity and eliminate an additional surgery. In a second recent study, the device identified 2O out of 21 DCIS sites as verified by post-operative pathology reports. DCIS is a hard-to-detect non-invasive form of breast cancer.
“Among the probe’s multiple advantages are intraoperative detection of positive resection margins in breast conservation surgery and the quantification of dozens of measurement points within minutes, along with simple operation supporting current breast surgical workflow,” says Solanki.
Venture capital investments from Apax Partners and other investors have allowed Dune Medical to advance its technology development and obtain regulatory certifications such as the CE mark for marketing in Europe. In addition, the funding has allowed the company to conduct ongoing clinical studies in US. The investments have also advanced Dune Medical’s efforts to initiate development of additional products for the Dune RF platform, aimed at other important surgical applications.
Studies with the Dune probe at medical institutions such as the Anne Arundel Medical Center in the U.S. have demonstrated the success and reliability of this device in helping surgeons evaluate the impact of surgeries in real-time in the operating room. Such functionality makes the device a significant breakthrough in this arena.
“Dune Medical is proud to have been selected to receive the prestigious Frost & Sullivan Award,” comments Dan Hashimhoney, CEO and founder of Dune Medical. “As studies in the U.S. and Israel continue to underscore the benefits of our technology, we welcome this additional validation of our product’s benefits from this internationally recognized organization.”
Frost & Sullivan’s Technology Innovation Award is bestowed upon a company (or individual) that has carried out new research, which has resulted in innovation(s) that have or are expected to bring significant contributions to the industry in terms of adoption, change and competitive posture. This award recognizes the quality and depth of a company’s research and development program as well as the vision and risk-taking that enabled it to undertake such an endeavor.
Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research in order to identify best practices in the industry.
About Dune Medical Devices
Founded in 2002, Dune Medical Devices is a private, Israel based venture-funded company engaged in the development and commercialization of hand-held devices that employ patent-protected radio frequency (RF) spectroscopy to characterize tissue malignancy on-contact and in real-time. Dune’s devices are designed to enable surgeons to intraoperatively obtain clear margins and facilitate complete, residual-free therapeutic excisions in one procedure. Visit: www.dunemedical.com
About Frost & Sullivan
Frost & Sullivan, a global growth consulting company, has been partnering with clients to support the development of innovative strategies for more than 40 years. The company’s industry expertise integrates growth consulting, growth partnership services, and corporate management training to identify and develop opportunities. Frost & Sullivan serves an extensive clientele that includes Global 1000 companies, emerging companies, and the investment community by providing comprehensive industry coverage that reflects a unique global perspective and combines ongoing analysis of markets, technologies, econometrics, and demographics. For more information, visit www.awards.frost.com
For further information, please contact: Frost & Sullivan Sandra Holze, Promotions Co-ordinator, Best Practices T: +44-20-7915-7866, sandra.holze@frost.com Dune Medical Devices Jeanne-Marie Phillips President HealthFlash Marketing Stamford, CT 06902 T: +1-203-363-0347 jphillips@healthflashmarketing.com
Frost & Sullivan
CONTACT: For further information, please contact: Frost & Sullivan, SandraHolze, Promotions Co-ordinator, Best Practices, T: +44-20-7915-7866,sandra.holze@frost.com; Dune Medical Devices, Jeanne-Marie Phillips,President, HealthFlash Marketing, Stamford, CT 06902, T: +1-203-363-0347,jphillips@healthflashmarketing.com
