Colpo 3-D Research Program

(supported by the NCI of the NIH)
Technology licensing opportunity, please contact:

A major women’s health problem is the epidemic of HPV lesions of the cervix which have the potential to develop into cervical cancer. There is a growing consensus that a conservative management approach is appropriate for a large fraction of these patients. One keystone of this approach is the ability to monitor lesions to determine if they are growing or regressing over time. Digital colposcopy provides the potential to "enable" this approach by providing the tools for the accurate measurement of lesion size and documentation. However, it has been recognized for some time that simple computer graphics approaches to area measurement have large inherent errors.

The Colpo 3-D technology provides a simple software solution to this problem, by providing a means to "correct" area measurements for increased accuracy and consistency over repeated measures. This capability is crucial for the application of digital imaging colposcopy to the conservative management of HPV lesions.

The Technology

The Colpo 3-D technology is comprised of an image processing algorithm (that could be incorporated into existing digital imaging software) and a disposable "standardization target". Milestones in the development of Colpo 3-D include:

Peer review approval by over 30 medical and computer scientists
$850,000 investment for Research and Development by the National Cancer Institute
Patent awarded
Publications in medical literature describing Colpo 3-D [Download pdf article (344K) requires Acrobat™ reader]

Markets for Colpo 3-D

The primary markets for Colpo 3-D include:

Gynecological research, particularly regarding natural history of HPV lesions
FDA studies of the clinical use of new optical biopsy methodologies
Clinical management of low grade HPV lesions
Gynecologists and Family Practitioners

Advantages of Colpo 3-D

Some of the many advantages of Colpo 3-D include:

Colpo 3-D provides a unique capability not found in other digital colposcopes. This distinguishing feature provides a powerful marketing tool in an increasingly crowded field.
Colpo 3-D technology opens a new market for a repeat sale, disposable standardization target that can be produced and sold at a high profit margin.
Colpo 3-D technology is essentially a software only solution that does not require any modification to colposcopy hardware. Colpo 3-D technology can be integrated into existing image management and measurement software.