Firm rolls out machine to battle prostate cancer
By Dave Moller, davem@theunion.com
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12:01 a.m. PT May 7, 2008
The battle against prostate cancer has been taken to new heights, according to a Grass Valley high-tech firm that developed a machine for the fight.
The Artemis machine developed by Eigen attaches to existing ultrasound machines used in prostate cancer detection and upgrades them to see in three and four dimensions. Ultrasound machines create images for medical personnel using sound and are often used to show parents the development of a baby inside the womb.
"You have to find the cancer first to treat it and manage it," said Michael Castorino, Eigen's chief executive officer on Tuesday.
Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer found in American men except for skin cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. About 186,320 new cases of prostate cancer are expected this year, the Cancer Society said. The death rate for prostate cancer is declining, however, and the disease is being found earlier.
Using the traditional two-dimensional ultrasound, "the doctor can't see what they're doing on all planes," Castorino said.
"This creates a real-time 3D and 4D image, and a doctor can track where he's going and been and see all the planes," he said. "He's able to navigate the prostate."
The improved imaging creates better biopsies of potentially cancerous prostate glands, 20 to 40 percent of which are missed, he added.
Eigen's machine also can be used for kidney, lung and thyroid pictures and therapies, according to Castorino. He said it "costs tens of millions of dollars" to get a new medical device to market but declined to affix a price to his firm's machine.
The machine will enable doctors to record biopsies and allow them to return to the tested area or perform a second biopsy, said local urologist Dr. Alan Wong, a consultant in the machine's development.
"It's more accurate," said Wong. "I think it's going to help a lot in day-to-day practice."
The machine has been sent out to 10 different locations for trials and sales, including the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Castorino said.
"To be able to see and navigate to a desired location is very beneficial for prostate biopsy," said Dr. E. David Crawford, head of Urologic Oncology at the center.
Eigen began as Eigen Video in 1975 and developed the 10-second instant replay used by Howard Cosell on Monday Night Football, according to the company. It has about 100 workers in Grass Valley and other locations, Castorino said.
To learn more about Eigen, log on to the company Web site at www.eigen.com. To learn more about prostate cancer from the Prostate Cancer Foundation, log on to www.prostatecancerfoundation.org.
To contact Senior Staff Writer Dave Moller, e-mail dmoller@theunion.com or call 477-4237.
