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ECE Professor’s business makes deal to market new radiation sensor
May 19, 2004
Distribution set for radiation sensor
May 19, 2004
The News & Observer
By Sam Lagrone, staff writer
© Copyright 2004 The News & Observer Publishing Company.
Sicel Technologies, a Morrisville manufacturer of medical sensors, has teamed up with an Iowa medical company that will distribute a sensor that measures radiation in cancer treatment, pending federal approval.
Med-Tec, of Orange City, Iowa, will market and distribute Sicel's OneDose, a single-use, disposable sensor that measures radiation levels in cancer treatment. Sicel hopes to hear back from the Food and Drug Administration by late June on what would be its first product.
Med-Tec, a privately held company that manufactures and distributes oncological supplies, will be in charge of global distribution, said Michael Riddle, Sicel's chief operating officer. He said OneDose would fit well with Med-Tec's catalogue of oncological supplies. Cancer doctors use devices such as OneDose to verify that patients receive the correct dose of radiation. Oncologists determine the dose through a series of CT scans and computer calculations.
OneDose is different from similar sensors, Riddle said, in that it is ready to use with no calibration; it's cordless and disposable and has a more effective method for recording radiation data. That translates to an easier and more efficient gauge of radiation and better patient care, he said. The OneDose technology was developed and tested at N.C. State University and licensed by Sicel.
After treatment, the OneDose sensor is plugged into a hand-held reader that displays the information. After use, the information is recorded on the sensor itself for later evaluation.
There are rarely errors in radiation treatment, but a sensor reading can tell doctors whether their calculations were correct, said Dr. Norman Coleman, director of the Radiation Oncology Sciences Program at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Md.
"You want to verify everything that you think ... [radiation therapy] is doing," Coleman said.
Wayne Huisman, Med-Tec's vice president for marketing, said Med-Tec moved quickly on the deal and came to an agreement for OneDose distribution in four months.
Neither Huisman nor Riddle would disclose details of the agreement, but Huisman said Med-Tec would market OneDose in the United States, followed by Europe, Asia and other world markets.
Huisman said Med-Tec has no commitment to market or distribute Sicel's more advanced Dose Verification System, a capsule-size sensor designed to be placed in the body, near a tumor, to transmit constant radiation readings to a receiver.
Sicel was founded in 1999 by oncologist Dr. Charles Scarantino and Dr. H. Troy Nagle, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at N.C. State University. The company has 26 employees and is looking to expand its operation in 2005.
