Ambicare raises £1.7M for mobile photodynamic light source

04 Aug 2010 | News

Funding

Ambicare Health, which is developing wearable light sources for medical and consumer healthcare applications, has completed a £1.7 million investment round to fund the roll-out of its lead product, the Ambulight PDT (photodynamic therapy), the world’s first light-emitting sticking plaster for the treatment of skin cancer.  

The funding round was led by existing investor Longbow Capital LLP with additional funds coming from the Scottish Venture Fund, DC Thomson and private individuals.

Ambulight PDT is used in conjunction with a light-activated drug to treat non-melanoma skin cancer, delivering photodynamic therapy treatment directly to the skin lesion site.

Ian Muirhead, Chief Executive Officer of Ambicare Health, said, “Feedback from dermatologists on the Ambulight PDT has been excellent and indicates that we have a product that will make a real difference in how patients are treated for non-melanoma skin cancer.”

Ambicare says Ambulight PDT will transform patient care by making PDT more accessible and enabling patients to continue with their normal daily routine when undergoing PDT treatment.  Clinical trials have also indicated this treatment method has lower pain than conventional techniques while still obtaining an equivalent outcome.

Currently, PDT treatment generally involves a day patient appointment at the hospital where a large static PDT light source is used to treat a limited number of patients.  This is inconvenient for the patient and costly for the healthcare provider.

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