The biopsy and treatment of lung cancer in a single hospital visit

Reducing time-to-treat from weeks to minutes; relieving hospital pressures, improving patient outcomes

An illustration of a lunch cancer.
Prothea Technologiesis a private medical technology company with a vision to offer lung cancer biopsy and treatment in a single hospital visit. Lung cancer is the third most common form of cancer in the U.S. and annually claims more lives than breast, prostate and colon cancer combined. Screening programmes aim to facilitate the early detection of suspicious lesions, but delivering value from these initiatives requires a significant increase in biopsy performance, presenting a challenge for hospitals already grappling with low biopsy yields and false negatives.
A photograph of a multi-core optical fibre.
Prothea is developing a medical device consisting of a Microendoscope combined with an Image Processing System, which enhances visualisation by providing in situ analysis of lesion structure at a molecular level alongside the biopsy tool. Further R&D is planned to develop a laser ablation catheter for the treatment of lesions immediately following visualisation and biopsy. The integration of these two systems (real-time imaging and ablation) will streamline biopsy and treatment into a single hospital visit, reducing time-to-treat from weeks to minutes, thereby relieving hospital pressures and improving patient outcomes.
A photograph of forceps emerging from an endoscope.
Additional R&D programmes will integrate its Imaging Processing System with robotic surgery systems and other medical imaging modalities. Prothea's Image Processing Systems measure the differential in time, between healthy and abnormal tissue, for the round trip of light from the laser source and back again. Proprietary software will be developed, enhanced by artificial intelligence, to evaluate these large volume data sets to develop real-time in-procedure insight, supporting clinical decisions.