Longport Inc. Gets $500,000 For Breast Imaging Work

SWARTHMORE, Pa., June 7 -- Longport announced this week that it has received a $500,000 grant in partnership with Lackawanna College to develop a high-resolution, portable, noninvasive ultrasound system for better-quality breast tumor imaging. The grant is from the Pennsylvania Department of Health and is part of the state's tobacco settlement award.

Longport said it will extend its ultrasound and digitial technology to enable tumors in the breast and other regions to be visualized in real time. Longport's 20-MHz ultrasound technology enables imaging of the skin, including skin cancers, to very high resolutions (approximately 65 microns), to a depth of 3 centimeters (1 1/4 inches). The company said it is now believed possible to capture deeper sections of tissue (10 cm or 4 inches) with the same resolution, enabling breast tumors to be detected at an earlier stage and to be better monitored over the long term.