Cancer therapy company Prothea Technologies, a spinout of the University of Edinburgh, has presented clinical trial results demonstrating the potential for its imaging technology to provide molecular guidance during bronchoscopy.
Prothea span out of the universities of Edinburgh and Bath in 2025 with two technologies promising to see and treat lung cancer in one hospital visit.
The Precision Lung feasibility study prospectively enrolled 21 patients undergoing clinically indicated bronchoscopy for suspected lung malignancy. The investigational imaging system combined a single-use 1.9 mm-diameter Eyes on Target imaging and access catheter with KronoScan™ label-free molecular imaging.
The principal end points were safety, procedural success and change in molecular signature at a malignant lesion, measured with Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy (FLIM).
A significant change in the molecular signature was observed in 17 out of 18 of the malignant lesions, replicating the findings of the published pre-clinical research.
Imaging was successfully acquired at the target lesion in every patient scoped, across all regions of the lung, with no device-related adverse events. FLIM imaging added less than five minutes to each procedure.
In one case, a Rapid On Site Evaluation (“ROSE”) was successfully completed, confirming a viable biopsy sample ex vivo; and establishing the principle of dual use of a single catheter. And while most patients were treated under local anaesthetic, one patient was treated under general anaesthetic, and a cryobiopsy was successfully performed. Two patients had benign disease and one patient was not imaged.
The findings were presented by Dr Adam Marshall, Consultant Physician in Respiratory Medicine at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and Principal Investigator, at the 9th Annual Conference of the American Association for Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology, on August 21.
Dr Marshall said:
From an operator's perspective, the technology integrated well into the bronchoscopy workflow. Imaging added less than five minutes to the procedure and the Imaging and Access catheter was compatible with our standard biopsy instruments."
Professor Kev Dhaliwal, Prothea’s Chief Scientific and Chief Medical Officer, said:
These first-in-human results provide compelling evidence that our technology can detect meaningful differences between malignant and normal lung tissue, without the need for exogenous labels.
We believe that this approach will not only improve confidence in cancer detection and characterisation, but also deliver more precise, molecularly-guided bronchoscopic biopsy and ablation treatment."
The Precision Lung study was co-sponsored by the University of Edinburgh and NHS Lothian. Prothea Technologies supplied the investigational imaging system through a research collaboration with the University of Edinburgh, where Professor Dhaliwal is Chair of Molecular Imaging and Healthcare Technology.
Dr Susan Bodie, Director of Innovation Development and Licensing at Edinburgh Innovations, said:
It’s extremely encouraging to see these initial results from Prothea’s in-human study. Lung cancer deaths remain horribly high due to late diagnosis, so being able to detect and treat at the same time could be game-changing.
We’re proud to have supported the development of Prothea’s technologies through many years of translational research, collaboration, IP protection and company formation, as well as providing ongoing support through Old College Capital, the University’s venture investment fund. We look forward to continuing to follow the team’s progress through the clinical development pipeline.”
