Medicsight, industry leader in the development of Computer-Aided Detection (CAD) and image analysis software which assists in the early detection of disease, said it has signed a collaboration agreement with Visage Imaging Inc.

Medicsight intends to integrate Medicsight's medical image analysis technologies (including ColonCAD API) into VI's Visage product line and develop and distribute a VI CT-Colonography application ("Visage CTC Application") with Medicsight CAD, said the company in a recent press release.

The VI Visage CTC solution will be offered via the VI thin-client platform. The CAD software automatically highlights suspicious areas on computerised tomography (CT) scans of the colon and lung, helping radiologists to identify, measure and analyse potential disease and early indicators of disease. Medicsight's computer-aided detection (CAD) software has been validated using one of the world's largest and most population diverse databases of verified patient CT scan data.
In addition to the products being shown at RSNA, Medicsight will confirm that Medicsight's ColonCAD API, currently approved for use in Canada, Australia and Europe, is now pending approval in the USA, China, Japan and Brazil through their respective country regulatory bodies: FDA, SFDA, MHLW and ANVISA.

David Sumner, chief executive officer, Medicsight, said, "We are delighted to have announced the collaboration to integrate Medicsight's products into a new Visage Imaging CT-Colonography application. The recently announced positive outcomes of two major clinical studies are widely expected to accelerate the adoption of CT colonography as routine primary screening for colorectal cancer. As part of this change, our ColonCAD software can ease the workload of radiologists, helping them to accurately identify colorectal polyps and tumours at an early stage when there is a good chance of successful treatment. We see this as bringing important benefits to patients and to healthcare systems worldwide."

Medicsight PLC is a UK-headquartered, research driven, leading developer of computer-aided detection (CAD) and image analysis software for the medical imaging market. The CAD software automatically highlights suspicious areas on computerised tomography (CT) scans of the colon and lung, helping radiologists to identify, measure and analyse potential disease and early indicators of disease. Medicsight's computer-aided detection (CAD) software has been validated using one of the world's largest and most population diverse databases of verified patient CT scan data. Medicsight's ColonCAD and LungCAD software products are seamlessly integrated with the advanced 3D visualisation workstations of several industry-leading imaging equipment partners.

With increasingly sophisticated radiological imaging hardware such as Multi-Detector CT scanners, radiologists are facing a growing challenge in the amount of detailed patient image data that they must review for each patient examination. Some CT scan examinations generate as many as 1000 images per patient. Review of this data by the radiologist is not only time-consuming but also prone to error due to reader fatigue. CAD software can help the reviewing radiologist by analysing the image data and automatically highlighting suspicious regions of interest for closer inspection. Without CAD software some potential abnormalities or areas of disease may be overlooked. This is critical for diagnosis and the management of patient outcomes as early detection of disease greatly increases the probability of successful treatment and a positive therapeutic outcome.

Medicsight's ColonCAD and LungCAD software use an advanced CAD algorithm to analyse CT scans of the colon and lung and automatically highlight suspicious areas that may be indicators of disease. CAD may highlight areas easily overlooked by the reviewing radiologist, such as small lesions or regions that are hidden from view behind folds in the colon or normal structures and surrounding tissue in the lung, said the company.

Both CAD products seamlessly integrate with the advanced 3D visualisation platforms of industry-leading imaging equipment partners. The integrated systems provide sophisticated image viewing capabilities, including 3D reconstructed image data, with the added advantage of demonstrating automatic CAD findings to assist clinical end users in the detection and analysis of disease. This allows clinical end users to perform either a 'second read', where CAD findings are displayed to the user after completion of an initial review of the CT scan data, or a 'concurrent read' where CAD findings are displayed during the user's initial review of the original CT scan images.

Since inception, Medicsight has developed close and lasting relationships with some of the world's foremost clinicians in product related areas. This provides the company with a wealth of clinical expertise and dedicated clinical research to support ongoing product development. Medicsight also collaborates with a number of leading academic institutions and clinical research programmes worldwide to develop the company's comprehensive database of population diverse verified patient CT scan data, thus allowing Medicsight's products to be validated to the highest possible standards.

Visage Imaging, Inc. designs and engineers clinical products that present its customers with the ability to overcome demanding market challenges and improve diagnostic results with accuracy and expedience. As a wholly owned subsidiary of Mercury Computer Systems, Inc., Visage Imaging incorporates Mercury's 20 years of technical expertise and deep knowledge of the science behind diagnostic applications into its practice. Visage Imaging leverages this experience to push the boundaries of what is possible within its domain.

Through collaborative learning, Visage Imaging has built a nimble, creative organization, one that is first to market with innovative 3D clinical applications, and offers best-in-class 3D products that are unique and reliable and that help its customers accelerate their own market innovation and clinical benefit.