Gamma Medica Announces New Partnership in the Fight Against Breast Cancer with Henry Ford Health System LP

WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. & SALEM, N.H.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Gamma
Medica, a leader in molecular breast imaging (MBI) technology, today
announced that Henry
Ford Health System has purchased Gamma Medica’s LumaGEM
Molecular Breast Imaging system. The system is set to be installed
by the end of 2016 at Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital. The MBI
technology will be offered as a secondary screening and diagnostic tool
following X-ray mammography, particularly for women with dense breast
tissue. This proven
imaging modality will help improve cancer detection in women who are
at greater risk of developing breast cancer.

Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of death in women, with
40,000 annual breast cancer deaths in the U.S. alone. Almost 50 percent
of women in the U.S. are diagnosed with dense breast tissue.
Unfortunately, not only do many not realize they have dense breasts, but
they may not understand what it means for their risk of breast cancer.
For a woman with dense breasts, there may be cases where a woman
received a negative mammogram, but she is later diagnosed with breast
cancer. Dense breast tissue and cancer both appear white on mammograms,
sometimes making it difficult to distinguish between the two. This can
lead to false negatives or delayed diagnoses.

Tailored to dense breast tissue, MBI is a groundbreaking method that
significantly improves early diagnosis of breast cancer in women with
dense breast tissue. The compression required for MBI is also lighter
and far more comfortable than a mammogram.

“Henry Ford Health System’s commitment to install our LumaGEM MBI system
validates progress in giving all women, regardless of their breast
density, access to accurate breast cancer screenings,” said Philip
Croxford, Gamma Medica president and CEO. “Our partnership with Henry
Ford will open the door for more women who are diagnosed with dense
breast tissue to use MBI as a standard secondary screening protocol
following digital X-ray mammography and tomosynthesis. We are pleased to
be working with such an influential and respected health care system and
helping give women access to the best screening methods available to
ensure early detection.”

“Our goal is to give patients the latest, safest and best quality care
by continuing to evolve the ways we help our patients and providers be
certain in their test results,” said Patricia Miller, M.D., Breast
Imaging Center Director at Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital. “As
research and real-world evidence underscore the unique value of MBI to a
patient population that critically needs it, we found it important to
offer this secondary screening tool. Given the proven
significant increase in cancer detection rates through the use of the
LumaGEM MBI system, we are confident this installation will help us
diagnose breast cancer early, specifically for our patients with dense
breast tissue.”

Recent studies have confirmed that MBI highlights metabolic activity in
breast tumors not visible on mammograms due to tissue density, leading
to earlier diagnosis. Clinical research also shows use of LumaGEM
reduces biopsies, often painful and costly, by 50 percent. A
breakthrough retrospective study, involving over 1,700 women with dense
breast tissue over a three year period, was published in the American
Journal of Roentgenology’s August issue confirmed LumaGEM’s high
incremental cancer detection rate of 7.7 cancers per thousand
(7.7/1000), this compares with published data for primary mammography
screening alone of 3/1000. The study also concluded that – when MBI was
used as a secondary screening modality – the total number of cancers
found was approximately 12/1000. Approximately 85 percent of these
cancers were also confirmed as invasive and node negative, indicating
they were detected at an early stage and therefore presented a better
prognosis.

To educate women this year about the importance of MBI and breast
density, Gamma Medica launched the Be
Certain campaign, which aims to give physicians and women access to
the most accurate clinical information on breast density and breast
cancer detection. In addition to education, Gamma Medica is committed to
increasing the number of accurate early breast cancer screenings through
installations at major facilities like Henry Ford. Every woman deserves
to Be Certain about her breast health and access to the latest
diagnostic tools to help reduce late diagnosis and improve patient
clinical outcomes.

About Henry Ford Health System

Henry Ford Health System is a six-hospital system headquartered in
Detroit, Michigan. It is one of the nation’s leading comprehensive,
integrated health systems, recognized for clinical excellence and
innovation. Henry Ford Health System provides both health insurance and
health care delivery, including acute, specialty, primary and preventive
care services backed by excellence in research and education. The system
is a 2011 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient. Visit HenryFord.com
to learn more.

About Gamma Medica, Inc.

Gamma Medica, Inc. is a women’s health company focused on overcoming the
limitations of anatomical imaging experienced by mammography and other
screening modalities in the early detection of breast cancer. The
company’s LumaGEM® MBI system is the first commercially available,
FDA-cleared, fully solid-state digital imaging system utilizing
dual-head Digital Direct Conversion Gamma Imaging™ (DDCGI™) technology
for molecular breast imaging. With over 90 percent sensitivity and
specificity, LumaGEM MBI has been shown to significantly improve cancer
detection in women with dense breast tissue with fewer false positives
relative to anatomical imaging technologies, such as MRI and whole
breast ultrasound. For more information visit, www.gammamedica.com.

Contacts

Racepoint Global
Tara Kadioglu, 617-624-3239
tkadioglu@racepointglobal.com