WELLESLEY, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Lumicell, Inc., a leader in the field of image-guided cancer surgery, today announced that it has created a new division to drive the expansion of its pioneering technologies to include wound care, infection and perfusion.
According to a recent study in the Journal of The International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research, each year in the U.S. there are about 8.2 million patients being treated under Medicare for chronic wounds with an estimated cost between $31.7 to $96.8 billion per year1. With the rising prevalence of obesity-related diseases, such as diabetes, and an aging population – there continues to be a growth in the number of patients suffering from chronic wounds. And with healthcare professionals making care decisions based on the limited, evidence-based knowledge of wounds and requiring patients to make weekly visits to track progress, this upward trend is predicted to continue.
“Chronic wounds have a dramatic impact on affected individuals, their families and the U.S. Health Care System, leading to reduced quality of life, limb loss and loss of life at a significant financial cost,” said Robert S. Kirsner, M.D., PhD, FAAD, Director, University of Miami Hospital and Clinics Wound Center. “Unfortunately, wound care is often a largely overlooked medical need compared to other medical challenges like cancer, despite similar effects on loss of life. There is a need for new technologies to assess the state of a wound, integrate this with clinical data, and support the best treatment, for the right patient, at the right time.”
“We created our new wound care, infection and perfusion division for the same reason we launched our pioneering cancer technology — we identified a patient population in desperate need and decided to apply our technology and leverage our world-class team to help people suffering from chronic wounds,” said W. David Lee, CSO of Lumicell. “We believe the biggest healthcare engineering breakthroughs happen outside of the biology lab. As such, Lumicell’s new division will use concurrent engineering – the convergence of engineering and biological research – to accelerate the pace of biological discoveries and create new applications to diagnose and treat patients.”
“While it will require significant research and development, it will be well worth the effort,” Lee said. “Lumicell has already established the foundational technology for this forward-thinking approach and assembled a small group of advisors to guide the team through the first stages of development. Our goal is to better understand wound healing and on a molecular level and to create an unbiased, holistic protocol that blends Lumicell’s care-leading technology, artificial intelligence and informed care options.”
Lumicell also hopes to create a community of wound care experts, including doctors, nurses, researchers and insurance company executives who are interested in providing expertise, evidence, opinions and guidance. This community will curate the statistics, biology and science needed to ensure the infection and profusion detecting technologies and accompanying standard of care protocols are accessible and adopted across disciplines.
1 Samuel R. Nussbaum MD, Marissa J. Carter PhD MA, Caroline E. Fife MD, Joan DaVanzo PhD MSW, Randall Haught, Marcia Nusgart RPh, Donna Cartwright MPA. An Economic Evaluation of the Impact, Cost, and Medicare Policy Implications of Chronic Nonhealing Wounds. Journal of The International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Value in Health 21 (2018) 27-32
About Lumicell, Inc.
Lumicell is a technology leader in the
field of image-guided cancer surgery. The company is developing a novel
system that enables real-time detection of tumor tissue in patients so
that no cancer cells are left behind during surgery. The company’s LUM
System has unprecedented ability to see and remove cancer cells
remaining in the surgical cavity – beyond the margin of the specimen –
and has the potential to significantly improve surgical outcomes and
reduce healthcare costs by eliminating the need for repeat surgeries.
Lumicell is investigating the LUM System in patients undergoing surgery
for breast cancer, prostate cancer, colorectal, esophageal and
pancreatic cancers. Additional future indications are planned to include
surgeries for lung, ovarian, and brain cancers. For more information,
please visit www.lumicell.com.