Thermal breast screening developer First Warning has hired a new principal investigator to advise the company as it moves its first product to market.
Surgical oncologist Dr. Joshua Ellenhorn is a clinical professor of surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and an adjunct professor at the John Wayne Cancer Center. He has directed laboratory research to develop new cancer vaccines that work on the immune system to identify and eliminate cancer cells, First Warning said.
Ellenhorn will assist First Warning as it designs its final round of clinical trials to validate the technology in preparation for a product launch in Singapore and Asia by mid-2014, with Europe and the U.S. to follow shortly thereafter, according to CEO Rob Royea.
First Warning is developing a wearable garment similar to a sports bra that records dynamic thermal readings of cellular changes in breast tissue. Multiple bioinformatics algorithms compare the circadian gene expression profiles to identify breast tissue abnormalities at different stages of development of disturbed breast tissue cells.
The company believes that its technology allows for earlier, more accurate cancer prediction for woman of all ages and tissue types. Ultimately, the First Warning system is intended to reduce the number of necessary radiation procedures, while eliminating potentially unnecessary surgeries, the company said.
