Sep 17 2013
Caliber Imaging & Diagnostics, formerly Lucid, Inc., welcomes the recent update to the Guideline on Basal Cell Carcinoma published by the European Dermatology Forum.
The updated guideline identifies confocal microscopy as one of three emerging techniques in digital imaging diagnostics and reports that confocal microscopy “has shown high diagnostic accuracy for the diagnosis of basal cell carcinoma.”
Confocal microscopy is the technology behind Caliber I.D.’s FDA-cleared VivaScope® cellular imaging devices, which provide patients the option of a painless, noninvasive optical skin biopsy in lieu of expensive and painful traditional skin biopsy.
L. Michael Hone, Chief Executive Officer of Caliber I.D., said, “The publication of this guideline is a milestone for confocal microscopy in Europe and is expected to be a catalyst to sales of VivaScope devices on that continent. It joins the earlier S1 guideline, published in 2011 in Germany that provides physicians with the first uniform recommendations for the use of the technology, confirms its importance in dermatological diagnostics, and paves the way for its routine use in everyday practice. Taken together, these two sets of guidelines also make an important contribution to the standardization of diagnostics with the VivaScope devices, which are marketed in Germany by our distribution partner MAVIG GmbH. These guidelines are a tremendously helpful tool as we continue to work with MAVIG to expand awareness of VivaScope and its benefits within the European dermatological community.”
Giuseppe Solomita, Director International Sales at MAVIG GmbH, said, “The European guideline on the use of confocal microscopy in dermatology, along with the German S1 guideline, are key components in our efforts to raise awareness of VivaScope devices. The respect and recognition generated by the guidelines help focus the attention of the medical community on this powerful technique and the technologies—such as VivaScope—that are available to implement it.”
Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common malignancy in the fair skin population. It accounts for around 80 percent of all non-melanoma skin cancers. It is a slow-growing tumor that rarely metastasizes, but can cause substantial morbidity due to its location on the face, its tendency to relapse, its multiplicity and the possibility that it can invade and destroy local tissues. BCCs are a heterogeneous group of tumors ranging from superficial to deeply invasive tumors than can be life threatening. The European guideline aims at updating current definition and classification of BCC and selection of the most appropriate treatment for individual patients.
The German “S1” guideline was published by the Association of the Scientific Medical Societies in Germany (AWMF) on behalf of the German Dermatological Society (DDG). Translated into English, the “Indications” section of the guideline states in part: “Confocal laser scanning microscopy is suitable for dermatological, noninvasive diagnostic of near-surface skin changes. In the area of skin tumors, it is especially of interest to assess melanocytic lesions with respect to their benign or malign character in order to enable the early detection of melanoma and to avoid unnecessary excisions.”
Source: http://caliberid.com/