VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA–(Marketwire – Aug. 25, 2008) – Urodynamix Technologies Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:URO) today announced that it has received a non-refundable financial contribution from the National Research Council Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP) to help accelerate the development and commercialization of new NIRS technology for the detection of prostate cancer during the digital rectal examination, or DRE.
Urodynamix’s new technology, based on near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), is designed to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer and related diseases in a physician office setting. During the DRE screening test for prostate cancer, a physician inserts a gloved finger into the rectum in order to be able to feel the size, shape, and texture of the prostate and other nearby organs. The sensitivity and specificity of DRE are highly subjective and dependent upon the skill of the physician, his or her ability to interpret what he or she feels, and the nature and progression of the disease. NIRS technology will allow physicians to detect and study abnormal prostate tissue and provide objective, clinically meaningful data to help doctors make better diagnostic decisions.
NRC-IRAP provides technology and business advisory services, coupled with shared financial support to innovative companies and organizations. NRC-IRAP will contribute approximately $60,000 over the next 8 months to support the development of NIRS technology used to detect, diagnose and monitor prostate cancer and related conditions.
“This financial support from the Government of Canada through the NRC-IRAP program will allow us to develop our next generation products more quickly and address a large market opportunity for improved prostate cancer diagnosis and monitoring using our NIRS technology platform,” said Barry Allen, President and CEO.
In North America, Europe and Japan, an estimated 40 million men have prostate cancer and 150 million men qualify for annual prostate cancer screening. Prostate cancer treatment and unnecessary biopsies cost $10 billion per year in the US alone. Urodynamix’s NIRS technology may help increase cancer detection rates by providing an objective measure of blood flow in the prostate gland. The device is also expected to be used in conjunction with transrectal ultrasound imaging to help improve the accuracy of targeted prostate biopsy and treatment.
About Urodynamix Technologies Ltd.
Urodynamix Technologies is a Canadian medical device company developing and commercializing non-invasive medical technology based on proprietary applications of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). The Company is currently focused on products that aid in the diagnosis and treatment of urinary incontinence, lower urinary tract symptoms, prostate cancer, benign prostatic hyperplasia, and traumatic increases in intra-abdominal pressure that cause abdominal compartment syndrome. Urodynamix’s breakthrough medical technology has the potential to beneficially affect more than 200 million people worldwide.
Certain information contained in this press release may be forward-looking and is subject to unknown risks, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth or implied herein. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove correct.
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