Press Release
Zenalux Research Partnership with Roswell Park Cancer Institute – Deploys Zenascope™ PC1 in Interstitial Photodynamic Therapy
Zenalux and Roswell collaborating through Research Partnership program…
DURHAM, NC – AUGUST 20, 2013 – Zenalux Biomedical, Inc., a biomedical diagnostics company, is now collaborating with Roswell Park Cancer Institute through the Zenalux Research Partnership program. The partnership has been formed to enable Roswell to use the Zenascope™ PC1 for interstitial photodynamic therapy. The PC1 will be used to monitor blood concentration, oxygen saturation, and drug concentration during surgical procedures.
“The excellent technical support, ease-of-use, and speed of the real-time spectroscopy system makes it ideal for clinical use,” said Gal Shafirstein, Professor of Oncology, Departments of Cell Stress Biology and Head and Neck Surgery at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. “The Zenascope’s real time monitoring of critical biological endpoints may be a key enabler in translating our PDT technology into widespread clinical use.”
The first step in the research collaboration will be to demonstrate the ability to carry out real-time measurement of drug concentration in addition to blood concentration and oxygen saturation. The ability to quickly customize the Zenascope PC1 to include the measurement of drug concentration is just one example of how the Zenalux system can be easily customized to measure biomarkers of choice.
“We are very excited to expand our Research Partnership program to include the Roswell Park Cancer Institute,” said Jesko von Windheim, CEO of Zenalux. “It’s an honor to be working with another leader in the medical field. We expect that the success of our current work will lead to further collaborations with the Institute in the future.”
The Zenascope™ PC1, an ultraviolet-visible spectrometer that achieves quantitative optical spectroscopy in turbid media, uses standard spectroscopic measurement hardware, proprietary software, and patented algorithms to achieve rapid, quantitative, and non-destructive analysis of biological tissue characteristics (biomarkers) that reflect the underlying function and composition of biological tissue. The specialized, real-time, diagnostic device shines white light on opaque target media and then measures and analyzes the reflected signal. The system achieves rapid, quantitative, and non-destructive analysis of the following biological endpoints: oxy-hemoglobin concentration ([HBO2]); deoxy-hemoglobin concentration ([HHb]); total hemoglobin concentration (THC); blood saturation (SO2); and scatterer size and density.
Current applications for the Zenascope system include accelerating feedback in drug discovery; breast tumor margin assessment; assessment of response to cancer therapy; and screening and diagnostic applications in breast, cervical, and head and neck cancer.
Zenascope is currently designated for investigational purposes only. Interested organizations can contact Zenalux at info@zenalux.com or 919-794-5757 x504.
About Zenalux Biomedical, Inc.
Zenalux Biomedical is a biomedical diagnostics start-up company that is developing novel biophotonic-based tools to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer as well as other disease states. The company has established its leadership in biophotonics through its deep ties to Duke University. The company’s flagship product is the Zenascope, a patent-protected, photonic system that non-destructively measures dominant tissue chromophores (such as oxygenated hemoglobin, deoxygenated hemoglobin and beta-carotene) as well as changes in cellular morphology and density. Applications areas currently under study include: accelerating feedback in drug discovery, breast tumor margin assessment, breast biopsy, and cervical cancer and head and neck cancer detection. Zenalux Biomedical is based in Durham, N.C. Visit www.zenalux.com.
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Keywords: Zenalux, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Zenascope™, PC1, biomedical, biophotonics, pre-clinical, in vivo, ex vivo, photodynamic therapy, PDT, cancer detection, response to therapy