Assessing a mole’s appearance for skin cancer poses a number ofchallenges that researchers MichélNiewoudt and Maher Khaled are trying to overcome with LumAssure™ – anew device they’re developing.
“New Zealand has a dire shortage of dermatologists in the public healthsystem. We have just 18 dermatologists and they’re all based between Hamiltonand Auckland. Many people can’t access a private specialist,” says Dr Nieuwoudt who is a Senior Research Fellow in the School ofChemical Sciences and the Photon Factory at the University of Auckland.
“We have very high UV levels which cause ~90% of skin cancers. Skincancers cost us $218 million in 2018 in health costs and lost productivity. Highlytrained clinicians can still miss a cancer or one that needs a biopsy, and excessivereliance on biopsies is inefficient, costly and can cause unsightly scarring.Clinicians can make up to 10 specialist biopsy referrals for just one confirmedcancer. “GPs don’t get muchtraining in assessing skin diseases and skin cancers and not all have access to dermatoscopes, relying on smartphoneimages which are often emailed for e-Triage (along with patient history andexamination notes), for assessment byone of those 18 specialists,” says Dr Nieuwoudt.
Her spinout companyLuminoma – led by Maher Khaled – is developing the LumAssure™, a portable diagnostic device that showswithin seconds whether a skin lesion is likely to be malignant or benign, aswell as differentiating the lesion type,providing clinicians with assurance in their biopsy decision. The Luminoma platform pairs a compact,portable Raman spectrometer with advanced machine learning algorithms. Thisnon-invasive analysis of the molecularcomposition of skin lesions is captured in detailed spectral data that isprocessed by algorithms trained on vast datasets of benign and malignantlesions. Within seconds, LumAssure™ can identify the biomolecular changes within the lesionassociated with cancer or skin diseases, providing clinicians with a highlyaccurate recommendation on whether a confirmatory biopsy is needed.
“Non-invasive testingis particularly helpful for patients who have a lot of lesions that may need abiopsy. When a patient has previously had a melanoma, new pigmented lesionsneed to be watched vigilantly. Similarly, sun damage can cause large pre-malignantlesions or patches, known as Actinic Keratosis, that are difficult todistinguish from early squamous cell carcinoma. The risk of missing a cancerneeds to be balanced with the cost, time and scarring from each biopsyprocedure. Ruling out a cancer with the LumAssure test with can provide boththe clinician and patient with greater peace of mind,” says Khaled
“In apreliminary study, the LumAssure™ correctly identified skin cancers at 99 percent while correctly identifying 72 per cent of benign lesions. This excellentsensitivity and specificity shows LumAssure's™ potential to reduce unnecessarybiopsies. We believe it will revolutionise skin cancer diagnosis and provideclinicians with assurance in their biopsy decision,” says Dr Nieuwoudt.
“Our technology promises to allow clinicians to provide aquicker, more accurate diagnoses that both detects more cancers andsignificantly reduces the need for invasive procedures. Better skin cancerscreening will allow effective treatment to be given sooner, resulting inbetter outcomes for patients and the healthcare system,” says Maher Khaled. “Byreducing unnecessary procedures, Luminoma and its LumAssure™device can alleviate patient anxiety and easethe burden on healthcare resources. With precise and rapid diagnostics,Luminoma aims to reduce healthcare congestion and operational costs, ultimatelyimproving patient management and health outcomes,” he says.
LumAssure™ is also looking at overcoming lesion challenges for Māori andPasifika. “While they are far less likely than New Zealand Europeans to developskin cancers, the melanomas are more aggressive with poorer prognosis and wewant to understand why that is. That’s akey focus in our current study and something we’re hoping to address in ourdevelopment,” says Dr Nieuwoudt.
Luminoma has begun the commercialisation journey with apilot study that Nieuwoudt and Khaled hope will lead to critical US Food andDrug Administration approval. They are also aiming for a US-based study laterin 2025 with the first device for clinicians to trial by the end of 2026.
Luminoma is backed by University of Auckland's InventorsFund, Pacific Channel and Bridgewest Ventures.
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