Verisante Technology Inc. of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, has completed the second phase of a rapid multispectral imaging (MSI) system for skin cancer detection.

The prototype is currently undergoing laboratory testing at the BC Cancer Agency Research Centre before starting in vivo data collection for training the predictive algorithm for the device.

Verisante licensed the MSI technology from its inventors, Dr. Haishan Zeng and Dr. Yasser Fawzy of the BC Cancer Agency, for skin cancer and oral cancer detection as part of a broader acquisition strategy to enhance its intellectual property portfolio, which also includes white-light reflectance imaging, fluorescence imaging and rapid Raman spectroscopy.

The company will also explore the possibility of combining the MSI with its existing Aura device to determine whether the two technologies in tandem produce results with greater accuracy, since they are measuring different parameters. The Aura was awarded a 2013 Prism Award for photonics innovation by Photonics Media and SPIE, and an Edison Award for Excellence in Innovation in 2013.