Colon rectal cancer (CRC) is the most common cause of cancer death among non-smokers in both men and women. CRC usually begins as a non-cancerous growth called a polyp that develops on the inner lining of the colon or rectum and grows slowly over a period of 10 to 20 years. At this advanced stage, CRC is extremely lethal yet early detection can result in a 90-95% survival rate. However, early signs of CRC do not exist or are difficult to spot.
Today the gold standard for screening method is colonoscopy. The problem is that it has a high rate of missed polyps reported (20%-28%). It is especially difficult to detect polyps when they are smaller than 10 mm in diameter, multiple in number, flat in appearance, or located in the left side of the colon.
Many technological solutions were developed and introduced into the market, trying and reduce the missed polyp rate by either increasing the field of view or improving it. However, all of these solutions require more attention from the physician and relies heavily on his/her expertise.
The LEAD (LEsion Auto-Detector) is a miniature, disposable colon spectral scanner, featuring 360° radially light emitting ring. It is attached to a colonoscope device before a colonoscopy process is performed. During the process it scans the colon, automatically processes spectral data from the reflected light at different wavelengths and wirelessly transmits instant real-time alerts based on accurate pathological tissue analysis.
LEAD core technology is based on a multiple years research conducted in Sheba medical center. Singer acquired an exclusive license for the IP and is developing the device internally as a joint project with Sheba medical center.