£300k investment in cancer imaging firm Michelson Diagnostics

A second investment of £300k into Michelson Diagnostics has been made by Octopus Investments. This adds to the initial investment of £1.7M in October 2010 by Octopus into Michelson, the medical equipment and scanner specialists, whose unique laser scanning technology can image skin and other surface tissue at a much higher resolution than ever before. Michelson anticipates that the VivoSight scanner could revolutionise the treatment of non-melanoma skin cancer, by providing dermatologists with a new way of seeing abnormalities that are hidden below the skin surface.

The VivoSight scanner has already won CE & Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulatory clearance for clinical use in Europe and the USA, and is now being evaluated by leading skin cancer specialists at their clinics. At a time where non-melanoma skin cancer is said to be reaching epidemic proportions, an estimated 3.5 million new cases p.a. in the US, accounting for 4.5% of all Medicare cancer costs (1), and costing the NHS around £100 million p.a. in the UK (2,3), this breakthrough laser scanning technology could make a real difference.

Michelson’s VivoSight scanner will enable clinicians to ‘see’ under the skin surface in real time, to help them decide whether to treat a lesion, what treatment to use, and to show them how far a tumour has spread, so that surgery is required only once and conserves healthy tissue. This is expected to make non-melanoma skin cancer treatment more efficient and cost-effective, and to be better for the patient by reducing unnecessary surgery. The scanner could also increase the use of non-invasive, non-scarring treatments, by giving clinicians a better way to monitor the progress of the treated lesion.

The £2M investment from Octopus will help fund the manufacture and placement of VivoSight scanners with key-opinion-leaders for clinical and economic validation, and will support the growth of the sales infrastructure in the UK and USA. Funds were provided from the Octopus Titan VCT funds, the Eureka EIS Portfolio Service and the Octopus Venture Partners.