BRASTER S.A. – a Polish company employing liquid crystal contact thermography in diagnostics of breast cancer – has acquired co-financing of PLN 9.097 million. The funds, which have been granted by the National Center for Research and Development under the INNOMED program, will be used for fine-tuning the Tester device, which is innovative on a global scale and used for digital registration of thermographic images of breast diseases in women, and for research comparing effectiveness of the device vis-a-vis standard diagnostic methods for breast cancer. It is another step bringing the company closer to launching the Tester device on global markets.

The key component of the project will be the development of the commercial version of the Tester device, which will go into mass production. The cost of tasks performed by the company has been planned at the level of PLN 3,228,599.52, of which PLN 2,097,795.89 will be financed from the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBiR) grant. The Jagiellonian Univeristy Medical College (UJCM )will be responsible for clinical trials, on a group of over 2,000 women, seeking to confirm the effectiveness of liquid crystal contact thermography. The value of the tasks performed by UJCM amounts to PLN 6,999,999.60 and is fully funded by the program mentioned above.

“I have joined BRASTER for a specific reason. I intend to verify present strategy for the commercialization of the product and substantially increase the process of marketing the Tester device. The funds acquired from the co-financing under the INNOMED program will facilitate fine-tuning of the Tester in such a manner that it can reach the recipients as soon as possible,” commented the newly appointed President of the Board of BRASTER S.A., Marcin Halicki.

INNOMED is a sectoral program with the aim of financing scientific research and development work on innovative solutions in medicine. BRASTER S.A., together with the Jagiellonian University Collegium Medicum, is preparing for in-depth research aimed at verification of the effectiveness of the contact thermography method in the identification of breast pathologies.

“Our scientific team has recently introduced a number of changes both to the device itself and to the algorithm. Furthermore, we have also managed to optimize the conditions for carrying out the examination; that is, to facilitate performing it without the need for additional preparations apart from acclimatization of a patient. It is important to us to now confirm that we are nearing a version of the device which will be ready for introduction to mass production,” adds Henryk Jaremek, Member of the Board and Director of Operations of BRASTER S.A.

“In the first clinical trial we achieved promising results for the Tester device. They stepped up our expectations. The BRASTER team has worked on improving indicated parameters of the device and now, thanks to the INNOMED program, together we will be able to verify the extent to which we have achieved this objective. We will also substantially expand the database of patients who have been diagnosed using the Tester,” adds Paweł Basta, MD, PhD, the coordinator of the research.

“The scientific project implemented in consortium with BRASTER S.A. is a crucial undertaking for the university because of its scientific and clinical importance. Furthermore, it should be emphasized that it is one of the first projects implemented on such a large scale in partnership with a private enterprise,” says Professor Maciej Małecki, PhD, the Plenipotentiary of the Rector for Science and Development at the Jagiellonian University Collegium Medicum.

Information on BRASTER S.A.

BRASTER S.A. was established in 2008 by a group of five Polish scientists who had developed an application for liquid crystals in diagnostics of breast cancer that was unique on a global scale. The scientists had developed a one-of-a-kind mixture of liquid crystal compounds and an innovative formula of liquid crystal emulsion, which had been used in a proprietary technology for manufacturing liquid crystal matrices based on the Continuous Liquid Crystal Film (CLCF) method. On the basis of this methodology, BRASTER S.A. has developed a prototype of the Tester device – an innovative medical thermographic tester for the early detection of breast pathologies, and breast cancer in particular.

BRASTER S.A. is the only company in the world to hold a tested technology for manufacturing liquid crystal matrices to be used in the imaging of breast pathologies; in particular, breast cancer. The objective of BRASTER S.A. is to develop the Tester device and prepare it for mass production. Since 2012 the company has been publicly traded on the NewConnect market.

BRASTER S.A. has been awarded the Golden Laurel of Innovation by the Polish Engineering Association, awarded the prestigious title of Market Innovation Leader by Dziennik Gazeta Prawna, and distinguished in the Polish Product of the Future contest organized by the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development.

TESTER

The Tester, invented by Polish scientists, is the first device in the world to use thermographic liquid crystal matrices in diagnostics of breast cancer. As the ThermaCRAC trial carried out in 2013 confirmed, the Tester is an effective diagnostic tool, complementary to mammography and ultrasonography, which significantly increases the chances of detecting cancer at a very early stage of development.

The device comprises three matrices with film covered with liquid crystal mixture, which facilitates thermographic imaging. The Tester is simple to use and non-invasive, and thus painless and safe for patients. The device does not emit or use harmful radiation and is biologically neutral to skin. The Tester can supplement screening diagnostics across a broad spectrum of female patients, irrespective of their age or breast tissue and temperature.

Jagiellonian University – Collegium Medicum

The Jagiellonian University (UJ) Collegium Medicum is a medical part of the oldest Polish university, with 650 years of tradition in educating highly specialized medical personnel for the health care system. One of the first three departments of UJ established in 1364 was the Faculty of Medicine, which gave birth to Polish medical science, which has developed there for centuries. The university combines tradition with modernity, caring about the highest level of research and education in conjunction with the provision of highly specialized health services. The Jagiellonian University Collegium Medicum has years of experience in the implementation of projects financed by domestic and international funds (EU, NCN, NCBR, and others). The university implements international, including multi-center, research projects in cooperation with international partners.