Investors will help save millions of patients from radiotherapy damage
Dear investor – or potential investor
If you have invested in TRUEinvivo® already (and over 70 of you have) then, as ever, we thank you for your confidence and support for the company and the team. You already know that we send out an investor update briefing every 2-3 months and that we organise investor get-togethers once a year. You also know that we welcome questions and interest from our investors at any time.
If you are a potential investor then thank you too for your interest in TRUEinvivo®.
You will have read about the company’s technical progress (not least on these web pages) but there is much more we can tell you about the market, our IP, the business plan and the hospitals and radiotherapy centres (in the UK and overseas) that have approached us to be part of our research and development programme.
We raised our first seed round early in 2018 which enabled us to build prototypes in-house. We launched our second seed round in late 2018 and that enabled us to get pre-production readers built by our design and development partner, Morgan Innovation and Technology. At the end of 2019 we launched our third round in order to complete regulatory approval and commercialise our products. Just to be clear, this page is not a formal invitation to invest in the company. It is for general information only.
If you would like more information about TRUEinvivo please contact our COO Nigel Biggs (nigel.biggs@trueinvivo.co.uk).
We have a real team ethos at TRUEinvivo® and we strive to make our investors part of that team – just as much or as little as you want to be! We look forward to talking to or meeting you.
Current Problems with Radiotherapy
The Technology
DOSEmapper™ is a unique high performance thermoluminescent detector (TLD) array consisting of 100+ small (0.95 – 1.6 mm) micro silica bead TLDs packed on a flexible thread for use in a standard catheter which can be easily inserted into the patient’s most relevant natural orifice next to the tumour. The beads absorb the same radiation energy as the tumour and can be read immediately after the radiation session.
Once the micro silica bead TLDs array is removed from the patient, the radiation dose levels and pattern will be measured by our fully automated high-performance TLD reader. The results will be ready, typically, after 15 minutes, and are a unique “radiation ruler” or profile of radiation measurements along or across the tumour area and beyond. The clinician is then able to compare the actual results with their planned doses and, if necessary, can decide to make adjustments for the next session.
The micro silica bead TLDs are chemically inert and ideal for safe and easy disposal or recycling.
10-25% of patients are currently affected by damage from radiotherapy.
TRUEinvivo DOSEmapper™ gives clinicians confidence that their patient treatment plan is accurate by measuring the location and dose of received radiation.
Beads placed in/next to tumour
DOSEmapper™ micro silica bead TLDs on a thread in a catheter are placed in a patient’s natural orifice next to the tumour.
Radiotherapy treatment
The required radiation is calculated and carefully aimed at the patient’s tumour. However the clinician is unable to see what actually happens in the body and what else may be hit.
Adjustments made
The DOSEmapper™ micro silica bead TLDs absorb the same received energy and show how much radiation the patient experienced at and around the tumour. The clinician can then decide if any adjustments are needed to the treatment plan.
Possible annual savings of £45M in the UK
Not only are DOSEmapper™ micro silica bead array detectors inexpensive and recyclable, there is the potential for huge savings associated with less damage to patients and a much improved quality of life.
Key Benefits
- Using DOSEmapper™ enables clinicians to reduce patient damage and the related extra medical costs.
- It can cost about £10,000 per patient to treat damage from inaccurate radiotherapy.
- Clinicians could save 7,000 patients from damage and £45m in costs annually in the UK alone.
- Micro silica bead TLDs are inexpensive, recyclable, and work in difficult environments.
- Reader outputs data in 15 minutes, allowing clinicians and operators to use the measurements quickly if required.
- Other potential applications are in fields such as nuclear, animal health, aerospace, defence and more.