
Skin cancer is the most common and fastest growing form of cancer in the world. The main risk factors for developing this type of cancer include exposure to UV radiation, age, sex, ethnicity, occupation, and family history of skin cancer. It is classified in 2 categories : melanoma, the deadliest form, and carcinoma, the most common type.
The prognosis of advanced melanoma is poor, and carcinomas are associated with high morbidity. Each year, skin cancer results in more than 10 thousands deaths in Europe alone. The incidence of the melanoma has been expanding for several decades and since 1945 has doubled 10 years since 1945.
DAMAE Medical is a French startup founded in September 2014, located in Paris. DAMAE Medical’s mission is to improve skin cancer diagnosis through early stage and real time diagnosis. The company has developed a novel hand-held imaging device that allows for non-invasive 3D visualization of skin tissues. With a single contact on the skin, the device provides, in real time, images very similar to traditional histology images.
The solution brings the microscope directly to the patient. The device relies on a unique patented approach combining Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) with Confocal Microscopy (CM), called LC-OCT (Line-field Confocal OCT). The combination resolution + depth is they key differentiators from the competition.
The technology was invented by Pr. Arnaud Dubois, co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer at DAMAE Medical, and developed in collaboration with CNRS, Institut d'Optique Graduate School and Université Paris-Sud. The company employs a multidisciplinary team: advanced researchers in optics, product design & engineering, computer science, image science and clinical marketing development.
LC-OCT is currently used in clinical studies for 3 main uses :
• Early stage and real-time diagnosis for all skin tumors
• Definition of accurate pre-surgical margins for skin surgery
• Guiding therapy to enable less invasive therapies, follow up treatment response and to select the best treatment/dosage for a specific patient.
GOAL 3: GOOD HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
DAMAE Medical ensures healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. DAMAE Medical is developing an in vivo skin imaging device based on the new LC-OCT technology to perform optical biopsies.
DAMAE Medical has been involved in the 3DEXPERIENCE Lab program since November 2019. They have adopted the 3DEXPERIENCE platform on the cloud for Design and Simulation.
The LC-OCT device was designed in SOLIDWORKS, with an easy-to-use handheld probe with embedded optical and electronics elements. The design allows for an easy integration into hospitals, clinics and dermatological private practices. DAMAE Medical is working on industrializing the device and preparing for production scale-up and market introduction. The 3DEXPERIENCE platform is helping to accomplish this goal bt hosting, sharing and labeling the LC-OCT clinical database.
The platform also helps manage the complex development process of a medical device by managing development cycles during the design and test phases, along with, testing with market partners (hospitals, laboratories, manufacturers) and collecting and implementing user feedback (on the functionalities, quality, usage, ergonomics, or bugs of the product)then starting the loop over until optimal performance is achieved and market expectations are met.
The development process of a medical device can be rigid, particularly for a start-up. This is why we carry out iterative development cycles during the design and test phases. These principles consist in defining the key assumptions or specifications of the product to be validated, quickly developing a β version of the solution, testing it with market partners (hospitals, laboratories, manufacturers) and then collecting user feedback (on the functionalities, quality, usage, ergonomics, or bugs of the product), implementing them, and starting the loop over until optimal performance is achieved and market expectations are met.
DAMAE Medical has structured an agile flattened hierarchy, composed of high-level talented collaborators, self-directed, motivated, reliable, with a work-team mindset and key competencies to manage high added-value activities of the projects. This organization enables quick decisions, rapid evolutions and paves the way for continuous innovation and reinvention, to provide the market with the best solutions.
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