With the rise of electronic health records, improving the portability of medical information has become a new focus in health care. Technological gaps, however, make this a problem in low-resource settings. For example, over 600 million women living in developing countries have inadequate access to breast screening for early cancer detection. In the developed world, many radiology departments are replacing traditional film and screen systems with digital technologies. In both cases, better digital mammography technology promises to solve logistical challenges and save money.
XLV Diagnostics, Inc., based in Ontario, is a new spin-off of the Thunder Bay Regional Research Institute supported by Sunnybrook Research Institute, Ontario Institute for Cancer Research and MaRS Innovation. XLV is launching an inexpensive, efficient and portable X-ray imaging system: Led by world-renowned researcher Dr. John Rowlands, XLV Diagnostics has created the X-ray Light Value (XLV), an inexpensive, efficient, and portable alternative to digital X-rays, and with less radiation exposure. The imaging system is designed to improve access to screening and aid diagnosis of breast cancer.
In the case of digital mammography, for example, XLV’s technology offers to improve the value of image analysis and portability in several types of settings. According to a press release:
XLV’s solution has the potential to provide image quality that equals or surpasses that which is currently in use, making images easy to analyze, manipulate and transfer much like digital photographs. It will also substantially decrease the cost of digital mammography machines.
“The technology that XLV is developing into a product promises to reduce the cost of an x-ray imaging system, making it more affordable for customers in the developing world and similar rapidly-growing markets,” said Dr. Michael Wood, CEO of Thunder Bay Regional Research Institute. “I am so very proud of the scientists whose research led to this technology.”
Links: XLV Diagnostics, XLV Diagnostics Patents…
Press release:XLV Diagnostics Inc. awarded $500,000 to develop digital mammography technology….
