More than 100,000 Americans are diagnosed with melanoma each year. Fortunately, when detected early, the five year survival rate for melanoma is 99%. However, existing skin cancer detection methods can be subjective and error-prone, or require an invasive biopsy to detect whether a lesion is benign or malignant. This can leave patients feeling uneasy and uncertain they are getting an accurate diagnosis.
That’s why Vita Imaging created AURA™: the first-of-its kind, non-invasive RAMAN spectroscopy device that can identify benign or malignant lesions in less than two seconds. AURA™ is currently advancing toward FDA market clearance and preparing for commercial launch after successful testing in comprehensive clinical studies.
At Vita Imaging, we saw an opportunity to help people get faster, more accurate results for their skin cancer diagnoses. The Vita Imaging AURA™ device can improve diagnostic accuracy and significantly reduce the need for invasive and costly biopsies. AURA™ utilizes proven Raman spectroscopy technology to differentiate between benign and malignant lesions through a noninvasive procedure, delivering nearly instantaneous results by identifying spectral changes in skin cancer cell biochemistry and creating a “molecular fingerprint” in under 2 seconds.
The AURA™ is so easy to use it can be operated in just three, non-invasive steps:
Thanks to this simple process, the AURA™can quickly be deployed in any dermatological clinic or healthcare facility.
In the United States alone, it is estimated that 9,500 people are diagnosed with skin cancer every day and one in every five people will develop skin cancer by the age of 70. According to the CDC, each year an estimated 6.1 million people are treated for skin cancer in the United States; the annual medical costs of treating skin cancer is $8.9 billion; and using proven interventions to prevent skin cancer, especially melanoma, can save money and improve quality of life. By utilizing the AURA™, these inflated costs can be significantly reduced while simultaneously providing better care to patients.
“We didn’t start Vita Imaging because it was easy—we started it because we knew it was necessary.”
Our journey began over 20 years ago with a simple but urgent question: Why are we still relying on scalpels and guesswork to detect skin cancer—when early detection is the difference between life and death?
Our CEO, Thinh Tran, is no stranger to solving complex problems. As a Stanford-trained engineer and founder of V- Silicon, he helped pioneer Smart TV technology and was a leader in the Smart TV market delivering best in class picture and audio quality. He was previously the founder & CEO of Sigma Designs since its inception in 1982 which he built from a humble start-up into a two billion dollar publicly traded NASDAQ company. But Vita's mission is personal. After seeing firsthand how long and uncertain the path to a skin cancer diagnosis can be, Thinh saw a challenge worth taking on—one that could truly change lives.
Together with leading researchers from the University of British Columbia and the BC Cancer Agency, we committed ourselves to solving the biggest problem in skin cancer diagnostics: making it faster, more accurate, and non-invasive.
AURA™ is the result of two decades of collaboration, over $20 million invested*, and a shared mission: to give doctors a powerful tool to detect cancer in seconds, and give patients peace of mind without invasive procedures.
*The $20M total invested includes: C$5.7M in research by British Columbia Cancer Research Centre, C$23M in research by Verisante Technology (business acquired by Vita), and $5M in research by Vita.
To-date, AURA™ has been tested in comprehensive clinical studies – including the largest known study using Raman technology for skin cancer detection – and has successfully passed all product performance and safety tests. Therefore, we believe that AURA™ has strong potential to exceed FDA benchmarks, ideally paving the way for full clearance and commercialization of a Class 3 PMA medical device.
AURA™ is a novel device, meaning it would be the first approved device of its kind on the market, paving the way for mass adoption.
A high-quality skin cancer detection device requires two properties to be successful:
We believe no product currently on the market matches the AURA™’s sensitivity, specificity and testing time in a non-invasive device.
Strong Business Model
Vita Imaging has a quality business model that will provide the company with solid cash flow from both device sales, recurring revenue, and potential future business opportunities.
Robust Patent Portfolio
Through our partnership with British Columbia Cancer Agency (BCCA) and the University of British Columbia (UBC), Vita Imaging has licensed a comprehensive patent portfolio to a cutting-edge platform technology with applications for cancer detection in the skin and internal organs.
Large Target Customer Base
The AURA™ is an obvious choice for regular use within dermatologists offices, but also has a wider potential customer based that includes:
Our initial target customers are Board Certified Dermatologists. Once we have FDA approval, we plan to add primary care physicians, general practitioners, and other healthcare providers as future target customers. It's important to note we will need FDA approval to change our label to include these target customers. The FDA will require some study data to support this change which could be from one or more reader studies (a "reader study" uses images of lesions vs. actual patients so it is relatively affordable and quick).
Valuable Data Collection
Subject to US HIPAA and EU GDPR privacy regulations, Vita plans to collect anonymized data from patients to help build a comprehensive spectral imaging database to continuously improve AURA’s accuracy with AI and machine learning. This data can potentially be leveraged in the future to improve diagnostic accuracy, identify the exact stage and type of skin cancer, and be a valuable asset commanding a high valuation if/when we look to exit.
Numerous Future Diagnostic Applications
While the first application of the AURA™ is in skin cancer, our technology has the potential to treat all epithelial cancers (such as stomach, colon, lung, and esophageal cancers). Raman spectroscopy may also be used to aid in the delineation of other non-epithelial cancers like Gliomas and Sarcomas. We like to think of these future patent applications as "the blue sky beyond skin cancer".
We already have exciting plans for the coming years, including:
Future projections are not guaranteed.
Vita Imaging’s AURA™ diagnostic device has the potential to save lives and provide more accurate skin cancer information to patients around the world. This is your opportunity to invest in Vita Imaging at a pre-revenue stage before we receive final FDA approval and approval across international markets to release our innovative diagnostic technology to the world.