WATS3D diagnostic platform for screening and surveillance of
Barrett’s esophagus now available to 800,000 members
SUFFERN, N.Y., Aug. 11, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CDx Diagnostics, Inc. is now contracted with Hawaii Medical Service Association (HMSA), an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and the largest insurer in the state of Hawaii, to make the WATS3D test available for all 800,000 of its members. When used in accordance with the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) guidelines, HMSA considers WATS3D medically necessary.
Esophageal cancer, one of the fastest growing and most fatal cancers in the US, develops from Barrett’s esophagus (BE), an acquired condition that occurs as a result of chronic recurrent acid-induced damage to the internal lining of the esophagus. About 10-15% of people with chronic burning and heartburn, symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), develop BE, which affects about two million people nationwide. Patients with chronic heartburn undergo screening with upper endoscopy in an effort to detect BE, and those with BE undergo surveillance so that dysplasia (precancerous cells) can be detected and eliminated prior to cancer development. Both screening and surveillance are widely recognized to be limited by the high rate of false-negative sampling error associated with standard 4-quadrant random biopsy.
WATS3D overcomes these limitations through the use of a unique combination of superior sampling, advanced 3D imaging, and advanced Artificial Intelligence analysis to determine the presence of BE and esophageal dysplasia in patients undergoing upper endoscopy. In large multicenter clinical trials, WATS3D was found to significantly increase the detection rate of both BE and esophageal dysplasia, demonstrating the far-reaching implications of the WATS3D Artificial Intelligence-powered diagnostic platform for protecting patient health.
“CDx Diagnostics, Inc. is proud to join the HMSA network to service its 800,000 members statewide as an in-contract vendor,” said Bill Huffnagle, CEO of CDx Diagnostics. “Healthcare is personal. It’s about helping each individual. This allows more patients with known or suspected BE to have access to the cutting-edge technology of WATS3D in order to potentially prevent esophageal cancer.”
In June of 2020, WATS3D was deemed as a safe and effective adjunctive to forceps biopsies in the evaluation of BE, low-grade dysplasia, and high-grade dysplasia by the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) and its Technology and Value Assessment Committee (TAVAC). In 2019, the ASGE included WATS3D in its Standards of Practice Committee’s guideline for the screening and surveillance of BE.
About CDx Diagnostics
CDx Diagnostics’ mission of Empowering Physicians With Innovative Technology To Prevent Esophageal Cancer, One Patient At A Time is accomplished by a proprietary diagnostic platform that synthesizes computer imaging, artificial intelligence, molecular biology and three-dimensional cytopathology to detect precancerous change earlier and more reliably than prior methods. CDx tests require only a few minutes of practice time, are highly cost effective, widely reimbursed, and address a recognized critical gap in the current diagnostic standard of care that results in thousands of otherwise unnecessary cancer deaths each year. Routine clinical use of CDx testing has already detected thousands of cancers that would otherwise have been missed in time for effective endoscopic treatment and application of the CDx Diagnostics platform to prevent cancers of the bile duct, stomach, and IBD affected colon is currently in progress. CDx Diagnostics is a Galen Partners portfolio company. To learn more, visit http://www.cdxdiagnostics.com.
Contact: Donnie Turlington
Phone: 336-991-7711