PARIS, Oct. 8, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Princess Grace Hospital Centre in Monaco has installed the world's smallest and most flexible imaging system capable of observing living, internal tissues at a microscopic level. The technology, known as Cellvizio, helps physicians accurately pinpoint diseased tissue inside the body in real time and remove it on the spot or determine a proper treatment.
The GEMLUC (Groupement des Entreprises Monegasques dans la Lutte contre le cancer) group of companies in the Monaco region provided a grant for the system, as part of the organization's commitment to fight cancer.
Developed in Paris, France, by Mauna Kea Technologies, the Cellvizio system is used with regular endoscopic tools during colonoscopies, upper endoscopies and diagnostic procedures within the bile or pancreatic ducts to detect cancer or disease more effectively and efficiently. Clinical trials focusing on the biliary duct, for example, have proven that Cellvizio increases the detection rate of unknown cancers by as much as 50%.
"We are very proud that The Princess Grace Hospital Centre has chosen Cellvizio to provide physicians with a unique in vivo imaging tool that improves diagnostic performance while reducing the need for additional procedures and the long waits for biopsy results," said Sacha Loiseau, President, CEO and Founder of Mauna Kea Technologies, speaking after the inauguration ceremony attended by Her Royal Highness the Princess Caroline of Hanover. "This technology has been a major priority for hospitals as they realize the tangible benefits of early disease and cancer detection."
Physicians and thought leaders at almost one hundred top medical institutions around the world have completed over 3,000 procedures with Cellvizio and have published more than 25 peer-reviewed papers on the technology in major medical journals. Cellvizio has 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European CE-Mark for use in the gastrointestinal and pulmonary tracts.
About Mauna Kea Technologies
Mauna Kea Technologies is a medical device company based in Paris, France. With its flagship Cellvizio system, the company leads the growing in vivo cellular imaging market, enabling physicians to visualize, diagnose and treat pathologies that cannot be seen using other imaging techniques. Investors include Psilos Group, Seventure and Creadev. For more information about Mauna Kea Technologies visit www.maunakeatech.com.