Dr. Nathalie Johnson, M.D., FACS, Joins Gamma Medica’s Clinical Advisory Board
SALEM, N.H.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Gamma
Medica, a leader in molecular breast imaging technology (MBI),
announced today that Dr. Nathalie Johnson, M.D., FACS, of the Legacy
Cancer Institute and the Legacy Breast Health Centers in Portland,
Oregon has agreed to join the organizations’ clinical advisory board,
currently comprised of distinguished clinicians and thought leaders with
expertise in women’s health technologies and diagnostic imaging. Dr.
Johnson and the board will provide strategic and clinical advice as
Gamma Medica continues commercialization and enhancements of its LumaGEM®
Molecular Breast Imaging system.
Dr. Johnson is a prominent surgical oncologist and medical director of
the Legacy Breast Health Centers. She grew up in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin
Islands and earned her bachelor’s degree in radiation therapy technology
at Howard University in Washington, D.C. and her medical degree at the
Medical College of Virginia (VCU).
“Gamma Medica is committed to providing a more effective breast cancer
detection option for women with dense breast tissue,” said Philip
Croxford, president and CEO of Gamma Medica. “As a thought leader in the
breast surgical space, we look forward to working with Dr. Johnson as a
key contributor to our team of medical experts and leading clinical
radiologists, ensuring our product offers benefits to patients,
clinicians and the health care system overall.”
MBI is a groundbreaking technology that eliminates key shortcomings of
traditional anatomical imaging technologies such as mammography and
ultrasound by significantly improving early diagnosis of breast cancer
in women with dense breast tissue. Detecting cancer in dense breast
tissue is challenging, as both lesions and dense tissue appear white on
a traditional mammogram.1 MBI is a functional imaging
modality that highlights metabolic activity in breast tumors that a
mammogram would not be able to read through dense tissue, thereby
leading to earlier, specific diagnosis, improved outcomes and lowered
costs.2,3 LumaGEM has also proven to reduce painful and
costly biopsies by 50 percent.2
“As health care professionals we take care of others every day,” said
Dr. Johnson. “Molecular Breast Imaging offers the opportunity to bring
access to advanced breast imaging for patients in suburban areas and
centers without the finances to support expensive breast MRI. I look
forward to utilizing my experiences with MBI and expertise in breast
care in collaboration with the board and Gamma Medica, which continues
to develop and to integrate this important tool.”
About the Screening Challenge Posed by Dense Breast Tissue
Studies
estimate that between 40 and 50 percent of women in the United States
have dense breast tissue, which makes mammography less sensitive in
detecting cancer.4 Women with dense breast tissue have a
higher risk of breast cancer (four to five times greater than the
general population), and it has been estimated that screening
mammography misses approximately 70 percent of the cancers ultimately
found in this population.
About Gamma Medica, Inc.
Gamma Medica, Inc. is a women’s
health company focused on overcoming the limitations of anatomical
imaging used 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-approved, 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.
1 Mayo Clinic. Tests and Procedures Mammogram. http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/mammogram/in-depth/dense-breast-tissue/art-20123968?pg=2
2 Rhodes DJ, HruskaCB, ConnersAL, et al. JOURNAL CLUB:
Molecular Breast Imaging at Reduced Radiation Dose for Supplemental
Screening in Mammographically Dense Breasts. American Journal of
Roentgenology. 2015;204(2):241-251.
3 Hruska CB, Conners AL, Jones KN, et al. Diagnostic Workup
and Costs of a Single Supplemental Molecular Breast Imaging Screen of
Mammographically Dense Breasts. American Journal of Roentgenology.
2015;204(6):1345-1353.
4 Kolb TM, Lichy J, Newhouse JH. Comparison of the
performance of screening mammography, physical examination, and breast
US and evaluation of factors that influence them: an analysis of 27,825
patient evaluations. Radiology. 2002;225(1):165–175.
Contacts
Racepoint Global
Tara Kadioglu, 617-624-3239
tkadioglu@racepointglobal.com
