Skin cancer detector maker Verisante Technology Inc. received a bronze Edison Award in the Diagnostic/Analytic category for its noninvasive Aura device. The award was presented this spring in Chicago.

In February, the Aura was selected as a 2013 Prism Award winner for photonics innovation by Photonics Media and SPIE in the Life Sciences and Biophotonics category. The Aura won, in part, because it allows Raman-based disease detection to move into the doctor’s office for the first time – and, unlike other optical skin cancer detectors, it doesn’t use visual characteristics to assess lesions but, instead, images the biochemical changes in the skin (based on molecular vibrations) using a near-IR (785 nm) laser.

The Edison Awards program is conducted by Edison Universe. The purpose is to inspire creative minds to remain at the forefront of innovation, creativity and ingenuity in the global economy. The 2013 nominees were judged by a panel of more than 3000 leading business executives, including past winners, academics and leaders in product development, design, engineering, science and medicine, the organization said.

Aura’s clinical study results, published last year in Cancer Research, showed that the device provides a significant advancement over current clinical diagnosis, Verisante said, with a 99 percent success rate in finding skin cancer and the potential to reduce unnecessary biopsies by 50 to 100 percent.