CytoCore® develops, manufactures and sells an integrated family of cost-effective products for the detection, diagnosis and treatment of cancer under the trade name of CytoCore Solutions™. CytoCore Solutions™ products are intended to address sample collection, specimen preparation, detection (screening), diagnosis, treatment and patient monitoring within vertical markets related to specific cancers. Current CytoCore Solutions™ are focused upon cervical cancer. This focus will later be expanded to include other gynecological cancers as well as cancers of the bladder, lung, and breast among others. Within each of these markets, CytoCore Solutions™ products will be sold as individual, value-added, drop-in replacements for existing products and as integrated systems that improve the efficiency and effectiveness of clinical and laboratory operations. In addition, most CytoCore Solutions™ products are specifically designed to support multiple markets, thus providing the customer with a comprehensive and internally consistent migration path as new disease specific products are added to the CytoCore® portfolio.
The CytoCore Solutions™ System includes the following components:
SoftPAP™ Cervical Cell Collector – SoftPAP® is a unique device for the collection of cervical cell samples that are used in the detection of cervical cancer, cervical dysplasia and HPV infections. SoftPAP® intended to replace the spatulas, brooms and brushes currently used to collect cervical cytology samples. SoftPAP® is FDA-cleared for sale in the US and is CE Marked for sale in Europe and other countries.
PadKit™ Cell Collector – PadKit™ is a low cost device that captures a sample that can be evaluated to provide an assessment of the health of the entire female genital tract. CytoCore® has obtained exclusive licenses to sell PadKit™ for the collection of cellular samples that can be screened for a variety of gynecological cancers including but not limited to cervical, endometrial, and ovarian, and for the collection of gynecological samples to be tested for the presence of HPV. PadKit™ addresses a number of market niches and segments that are not addressed effectively by SoftPAP® or traditional gynecological sampling devices and is thus a compliment to SoftPAP® in the CytoCore Solutions™ family of products.
CytoCore® Assays – CytoCore® has developed several proprietary chemical and immunochemical reagents for use with the AIPS Imager. One of these stains is a quantitative, fluorogenic morphological stain that is particularly well suited for the rapid automated detection of cellular abnormalities indicative of dysplasia and cancer. Another reagent is showing promise in differentiating between cellular dysplasias that are likely to progress to cancer and those that are not likely to progress. Additional reagents are under development for the detection and classification of dysplasias and cancers.
AIPS™ Workstation – The AIPS™ Workstation is a low-cost, highly integrated workstation for computer-assisted cytology. The AIPS™ Workstation is positioned as a productivity enhancement tool that reduces costs by efficiently managing all aspects of the cytology screening process. The unique design of the AIPS™ Workstation also addresses many of the well known ergonomic issues with the microscopes currently used for screening.
AIPS™ Imager – The AIPS™ Imager is a low-cost system for the “computer-guided screening” of cytological specimens. The AIPS™ Imager is designed to work in conjunction with the AIPS™ Workstation and CytoCore® Assays to efficiently detect putatively abnormal cells in a specimen and to present these cells to a cytologist for classification.