SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--U-Systems, Inc., the leader in automated breast ultrasound system development, announced today the successful completion of a $10 million funding round led by iD SoftCapital Group. Other investors in this financing include existing U-Systems investors Sycamore Ventures, Lumira Capital, Radius Ventures and PIIH.
“This funding will enable us to complete our groundbreaking clinical trial, the SOMO·INSIGHT Clinical Study, designed to evaluate whether the somo•v™ Automated Breast Ultrasound System (ABUS) from U-Systems in combination with digital mammography is more sensitive to detecting breast lesions when compared to mammography alone in women with dense breasts,” said Ron Ho, president and CEO of U-Systems. “Ultrasound, which is routinely used for diagnostic studies, has been shown to find cancer not visible with mammography in women who have dense breasts. A new approach to improving breast cancer detection is critical and we believe that somo•v™ ABUS technology will play a vital role in significantly advancing breast cancer screening for this large group of asymptomatic women with increased breast density.”
”We are very excited with the progress of the SOMO·INSIGHT Clinical Study and U-Systems’ leadership role in advancing the early detection of breast cancer in women with dense breasts,” said Ed Yang, partner at iD Ventures America. In connection with the iD SoftCapital Group investment, Ed Yang of iD Ventures America and Wu-Fu Chen of iD Innovation will join U-Systems Board of Directors.
A study recently published in CANCER found that breast cancer patients with dense breasts have a 4 times higher risk of recurring malignancy. This bolsters previous studies which showed dense breast tissue as a significant risk factor for breast cancer and that dense breast tissue often masks the appearance of tumors making them difficult to detect with mammography. It is estimated that approximately 40% of women in the US and Europe, and up to 70% of women is Asia have some amount of dense breast tissue.
Breast ultrasound has long been established as the preferred modality for diagnostic breast imaging, especially in women with dense breasts. With the advent of the somo•v™ ABUS, and the results of the SOMO·INSIGHT Clinical Study, radiologists may have a powerful tool to aid in the early detection of breast cancer in women with dense breast tissue.
U-Systems designs, manufactures and markets automated ultrasound systems to assist healthcare providers in the early detection of breast cancer. U-Systems has built a leadership position in automated breast ultrasound imaging systems and has incorporated proprietary hardware and software technology into its FDA-cleared and CE-Marked somo•v™ Automated Breast Ultrasound System.
For more information about U-Systems, go to: http://www.u-systems.com/.
