Verisante Technology, a specialist in skin cancer detection technology, has received Australian regulatory approval to commercialise Verisante Aura, an innovative, non-invasive medical device used in the early detection of skin cancer.
Aura is a non-invasive optical system used as a tool to aid medical professionals in the assessment of suspect skin lesions for diagnosis as either skin cancer or a benign disorder in less than two seconds.
Verisante Aura will evaluate skin lesions that may be clinically suspicious for melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma or basal cell carcinoma.
The device uses laser Raman spectroscopy to biochemically analyse the skin, and will also help to automate the current process of diagnosis, enabling rapid scanning of the 20 to 40 skin lesions on at-risk individuals, enhancing patient outcomes and comfort.
The system will collect real-time, in vivo lung spectra via a fibre-optic catheter passed down the instrument channel of a bronchoscope.
Using laser Raman spectroscopy, clear in vivo spectra were obtained in one second, and preneoplastic lesions were detected with a sensitivity of 96% and a specificity of 91%.
The Australian Government Department of Health said Australia has the highest skin cancer incidence rate in the world, at nearly four times the rates in Canada, the US and the UK.