E HME T HE A LT H
Breast Cancer Treatment is More Effective and Accessible with MammoKnife BY ALISHA BROWN, DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS, MICHBIO BASED ON INFORMATION PROVIDED BY EHMET HEALTH
One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some point in their lifetime, according to 2014 - 2016 data from the National Cancer Institute. Even with approximately 90% 5-year survival rates, breast cancer still results in over 41,000 deaths per year in the United States and over 260,000 new cases diagnosed each year. Of those, over half undergo radiation as part of their treatment resulting in radiation departments nationwide dedicating nearly one-quarter of their resources to the treatment of breast cancer. Unfortunately, though much progress has been made in early detection, radiation machines used in treatment are often outdated and not specifically designed to treat breast cancer. In addition, women in rural America are faced with a lack of precision therapies near their home contributing to both higher mastectomy and mortality rates. Ehmet Health, with its proprietary technology, will shift the paradigm of care while simultaneously improving patient outcomes and reducing unwanted side effects. Ehmet Health is a privately-held medical device company headquartered in Plymouth, Michigan with an innovative product, the MammoKnife, designed to address the challenges faced by hospitals and patients including complications from radiation, economics around reimbursement, and patient access for breast cancer radiotherapy.
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MICHBIO | michbio.org
“Current practices in radiation therapy for breast cancer patients have some concerning aspects,” says Neal Clinthorne, Chief Technology Officer at Ehmet Health, “which are not the fault of the hospital or the doctor but instead result from the expense of radiation equipment.” Most radiation departments rely on a machine capable of treating many types of cancer. In most cases, breast cancer patients will lie in a supine position, on their back, and these linear accelerator-type machines will use radiation beams from two angles to target specific areas on the breast where cancer is present. However, the supine position puts the patient at significant risk for excessive burning or scarring on the skin, as well as, damage to critical organs such as the heart and lungs, as stated by the American Heart Association.
