TORONTO, Canada -- Cedara Software Corp., a Merge Healthcare company and a leading independent developer of medical software technologies for the global healthcare market, today announced an exclusive relationship with Molecular Therapeutics of Ann Arbor, Michigan, in which Cedara will market and sell products based on new ground-breaking techniques in cancer assessment. Using a novel imaging process known as functional diffusion mapping, this technology will be integrated into software solutions for early detection of treatment response in cancer care.

Differing from standard techniques used to evaluate cancer treatment, functional diffusion mapping has the potential to evaluate the impact of anti-cancer drugs and radiation therapy on certain tumors through changes in water diffusion and Brownian motion. By giving radiologists a sophisticated tool to study tumor activity at both the molecular and anatomical level, it is hoped that this technology may provide the foundation on which fast, efficient and personalized treatment planning can develop. This technology is also expected to bring about significant advances in pharmaceutical research and evaluation.

Functional diffusion mapping was developed through original research, led by Brian Ross at the University of Michigan, and licensed to Molecular Therapeutics. While current methods evaluate tumor response based on changes in size, shape and anatomical characteristics, Dr. Ross' research has examined the ability of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to capture changes in physiological activity. Using functional diffusion mapping, tumor response may be evaluated at a pixel or voxel level, rather than on a lesion as a whole, allowing further advancements in targeted treatment planning. In a landmark study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, March 2005, early research indicated that functional diffusion mapping may allow researchers to evaluate tumor response at a significantly earlier stage than is currently possible.
"Armed with this kind of advanced early warning and response information, doctors, such as Radiation Therapy physicians, may be able to make more frequent and guided changes in the course of cancer treatment," said Chris Barlow, Cedara's Director of Business Development, "We hope that these changes will lead to better treatment and patient care."

In collaboration with Cedara, researchers will investigate how outcomes and treatments can be affected by this novel technique, and how functional diffusion mapping may be applied to treatment for other cancer areas, such as breast, liver or head/neck cancer. Cedara will focus on developing commercial products, seeking regulatory clearance, establishing further partnerships and marketing the products and technology to OEMs. Merge eMed, a Merge Healthcare company that focuses on the end-user market, will bring this technology and other Cedara clinical applications to hospitals, imaging centers and specialty clinics.

"Working with Cedara is an important step in making this critical technology available to the public. Cedara has superb connections with medical companies, as well as having their own direct channels," said Brian Ross, Ph.D., professor of radiology and biological chemistry at the University of Michigan Medical School and a member of the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, "We are keen to make positive changes to people's quality of life. I don't think that any patient wants to endure seven weeks of treatment only to find two months later that it had no effect. Using MRI tumor diffusion values to accurately predict the treatment response early on could allow some patients to switch to a more beneficial therapy and avoid the side effects of a prolonged and ineffective treatment."

Cedara will also pursue opportunities for using this technology to help speed-up drug discovery for pharmaceutical companies. Current pre-clinical trials suffer similar problems of delay in understanding whether or not a new compound has had an affect on tumors.

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