HTX has said that it is providing $750,000 in financing to Tornado Medical Systems, an early-stage medical imaging and spectroscopy company, through the Technology Acceleration Program to support the commercialization of the tumor Margin Assessment Machine (MAM).

MAM is a medical device enabling the assessment of tumor margins during breast cancer surgery.  Dr. Stefan Larson, CEO at Tornado Medical, said that the MAM is designed to tackle the clinical need of margin assessment head-on, based on the ability to rapidly create high-resolution images of biological tissues at depths of several millimeters.

“More accurate and timely confirmation of surgical margins will improve procedure outcomes and reduce repeat surgeries which are estimated to be as high as 20-30 percent, Dr. Larson said, adding that the support from HTX will help fund ongoing technical development and clinical trials necessary to commercialize the device.

HTX’s funding is part of a $3.7 M project, including funding support from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation and in-kind contributions from the Thunder Bay Regional Research Institute for development, testing, and clinical studies of the MAM.

Medical experts say that accurate tumor margins assessment is critical to confirm all cancerous tissue has been successfully removed. Using proprietary high resolution imaging technology, Tornado’s MAM rapidly and accurately maps the boundary between healthy and cancerous tissue.

 John Soloninka, president and CEO at HTX, said that The MAM has the potential to directly impact the high re-excision rates associated with breast cancer surgery.

“This will, in turn, increase clinical efficacy, improve patient outcomes, provide higher patient throughput, and decrease the overall costs to both patients and healthcare providers,” Soloninka said.

"Tornado Medical is changing the face of health care treatment, while creating jobs and boosting our economy," said Brad Duguid, Ontario Minister of Economic Development and Innovation. "Pinpointing the exact surgical care required for those suffering from breast cancer is key to speedy and full recovery; and key to maintaining healthy, prosperous communities."

HTX supports emerging and established Ontario-based companies to develop, produce and commercialize innovative market leading advanced health technologies.

Earlier this year in April, HTX provided $750,000 in financing to PatientOrderSets.com to enable integration of their technology platform with leading Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE) and Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems.