Guided Therapeutics (GT) has been awarded $1m from National Cancer Institute (NCI), to fund the second year of a $2.5m grant, which provides additional resources to commercialize the LightTouch non-invasive cervical cancer detection device and single-patient-use disposable.

GT has been awarded approximately $6m in six consecutive grants from the NCI to develop the new, pain-free test for detecting cervical disease.

The GT LightTouch technology employs a single-use disposable patient interface, scans the cervix with light to identify cancer and pre-cancer painlessly and non-invasively and also distinguishes normal and diseased tissue, by detecting biochemical and morphological changes at the cellular level.

The LightTouch test does not require a tissue sample or laboratory analysis unlike Pap or HPV tests and is designed to provide results immediately and effectively.

GT said that the results of a multi-center pivotal clinical trial showed that LightTouch detected cervical disease up to two years earlier than Pap test, HPV test, colposcopy and biopsy.

GT president and CEO Mark Faupel said that the continuation of the grant provides additional non-dilutive resources to complete the regulatory process, including design enhancements and begin manufacturing LightTouch devices and disposables.

“We believe that the award continuation also indicates a high level of confidence in our technology by the NCI reviewers,” Faupel said.