NanoEcho develops a method intended to facilitate differentiation between healthy and diseased tissue and at the same time determine the location of the cancer spread more precisely. The proprietary diagnostic system aims to fill a current void in rectal cancer care. Since June 2021, NanoEcho is conducting a clinical development study at Sahlgrenska University Hospital. The Company has now also been cleared to start a clinical development study at Skåne University Hospital in Malmö.

The trial will be led by Henrik Thorlacius, Professor of Surgery at Lund University and Chief Physician at Skåne University Hospital in Malmö. Recruitment of patients is planned to commence during the fall, and approximately 40 patients will be included overall. The duration of the study will be one to two years from the commencement date. The patients participating in the study will undergo the usual routine surgery. Once the cancer is removed from the patient, the surgical preparate will be examined with NanoEcho’s instrument. The result will then be compared with the pathologist’s final microscopic examination.

The Company is currently in a detailed stage of development of the next-generation system, with a clear commercial focus on market authorization. One of the objectives of the clinical development studies is to gain a comprehensive picture of the system's performance and get direct feedback. On completion of the two clinical development studies, the ambition is to have examined rectal cancer locations in every part of the rectum and in different stages with NanoEcho's system.

“We look forward to starting the clinical development study also at Skåne University Hospital in Malmö this autumn. It is an important piece for us, to get a comprehensive picture of the system's performance and to get direct feedback to the ongoing detailed product development phase.”, says Linda Persson, CEO of NanoEcho.