Perimeter Medical Imaging AI’s (TSX-V:PINK; OTC:PYNKF) ultra-high-res imaging tool for use during breast cancer surgeries was highlighted in a conversation today on X driven by renowned Silicon Valley venture capitalist, entrepreneur, and former Facebook executive Chamath Palihapitiya.
In his post on X, Mr. Palihapitiya stated, “…This is incredible but raises the next big problem: about 30% of all breast cancer surgeries in the U.S. still leave cancer behind because they don’t have the help that AI can give them to do it right the first time. What’s worse is that it usually takes a pathologist seven-to-ten days to let a woman know this at which point they need to submit to another surgery. Because of this error rate, for every ten women who get diagnosed with breast cancer in the U.S., it takes doctors 14 surgeries to get them help.”
Mr. Palihapitiya continued, “The next leap after AI-enabled detection is AI enabled surgeries. The error rate can and should be zero and it’s possible with better imaging and decision support in the OR, in real time, using AI to help guide the surgeon.”
After several years of development, Perimeter Medical’s FDA PMA application for its B-Series OCT system with ImgAssist AI is expected to be submitted in early 2025. In the meantime, the company is continuing to market its FDA-cleared S-Series OCT system, which provides real-time, cross-sectional visualization of excised tissues at the cellular level.
“These devices are in several of the top hospitals in the country so if you need a lumpectomy, please see our website for a list of hospitals to prefer. You can also message me and I can direct you to the company to help guide you,” Mr. Palihapitiya concluded.
Presumably due in part to the discussion on X, Perimeter’s stock closed up 40% to C$0.80 today on trading volume of 815,000 shares across TSX platforms. According to Yahoo Finance, the daily trading average for the stock is less than a tenth of that.
In November 2024, Perimeter reported positive topline results from a pivotal study designed to support the company’s planned PMA submission to market its next-generation B-Series with ImgAssist AI 2.0 for use during breast-conserving surgeries. The pivotal trial met its primary endpoint, achieving a statistically significant (p-value = 0.0050) reduction in patients with residual cancer during surgery. These results demonstrated super-superiority (lower bound of confidence interval for treatment effect greater than a predetermined minimal clinically meaningful difference) of the Perimeter B-Series OCT with ImgAssist AI 2.0 system’s ability to aid surgeons in achieving clear surgical margins during surgery, potentially lowering the need for reoperation.
