Therapixel has received a second 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for MammoScreen, AI-based software assisting radiologists in breast cancer screening. This new clearance expands the use of Mammoscreen to Digital Breast Tomosynthesis (3D Mammography). Therapixel is a French company specialized in the design and commercialization of AI-powered medical imaging software, with the goal of delivering pertinent information at the right time to healthcare professionals.
This FDA clearance, received after submitting results from a multi-reader study conducted earlier this year, makes Mammoscreen immediately available to the entire US mammography market. Study findings revealed improvement in readers’ performance in screening for lesions when paired with MammoScreen compared to radiologists alone. Additionally, the study showed significant time saving when using MammoScreen.
MammoScreen automatically detects and characterizes suspicious soft tissue lesions and calcifications in mammography and tomosynthesis images while assessing their likelihood of malignancy. The results are summarized by the MammoScreen Score that characterizes suspiciousness of each lesion scored on a scale of 1-10, with 1, being least likely to reveal malignancy and 10 most likely.
“Receiving this second FDA clearance for MammoScreen is a major milestone for Therapixel,” said Pierre Fillard, Ph.D., Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Therapixel. “Thanks to a deep and fruitful collaboration with radiologists, we have, over the last 18 months, turned the 2017 DREAM challenge winning 2D algorithm to a powerful FDA-cleared product for both 2D and 3D mammography. MammoScreen can now assist all radiologists in their day-to-day-work whichever modality they are using.”
“MammoScreen now covers both the gold standard 2D mammography and the state-of-the-art 3D tomosynthesis modalities. This provides quick and reliable confirmation of Radiologists’ suspicions as they read,” said Matthieu Leclerc-Chalvet, Therapixel CEO. “Tomosynthesis is known as time consuming because of the large number of images to review. MammoScreen allows a more optimized and certain assessment by Radiologists and a speedier reassurance of women having breast cancer screening exams, resulting in a more efficient workflow and reduced costs for the healthcare system. Thanks to this new FDA clearance, we expect significant growth in the US market and we look forward to installing MammoScreen in additional radiology departments and institutions across the U.S. so that imaging professionals and women can benefit from its use.”
Breast cancer is the second cause of cancer death worldwide. In the United-States, 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer during their lifetime. Early detection is the key to successful treatment.
