GE reveals work on new MBI system

[LovelyBones]

GE Healthcare of Chalfont St. Giles, U.K., has announced that it is developing a molecular breast imaging (MBI) system with clinical sites in Israel and Canada.

GE is collaborating in two clinical trials with the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Hamilton Health Sciences Hospital in Ontario, Canada, on the MBI technology, which is intended to assess and detect breast cancer in women who are at high risk for the disease.

The MBI technology features digital detectors based on cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) in place of standard crystal technology routinely used for conventional gamma cameras.

In the two current prospective studies, the diagnostic accuracy of MBI will be determined in patients at high risk for breast cancer, including patients with dense breast tissue in whom conventional modalities such as x-ray, mammography, and ultrasound are not adequate.

The GE MBI camera is limited to investigational use in the U.S. and Canada, the company said.