iCAD Inc (ICAD)

[ED20332]

iCAD (NASDAQ: ICAD): Early Cancer Detection


by Andy Obermueller, editor Fast-Track Millionaire

iCAD (NASDAQ: ICAD), the leader in computer-assisted detection of cancer and a Fast-Track Millionaire portfolio holding, announced that the FDA has cleared VeraLook, its virtual colonoscopy product.

VeraLook uses sophisticated technology to identify polyps in between 1,200 and 1,500 images produced from a non-invasive CT scan.

Though the timing was never certain, the FDA's move, which followed European approval last year, was expected.

The virtual procedure is safer, more accurate, does not require sedation and is in general far more comfortable than a traditional optical colonoscopy. VeraLook also has been shown to generate far less frequent false positives.
iCAD chief executive Ken Ferry said 40 million Americans who should have colonoscopies do not get them and said iCAD's break-through technology could prompt more people to undergo the examination.

As with all forms of cancer, early detection is the key to successful treatment. The American Cancer Society says colorectal cancer is the No. 2 cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States, where it claims 51,000 lives a year.

While today's news is certainly good news, let me be clear: It marks the beginning for iCAD, not the end.

As this technology gains wide acceptance -- I think it will become the standard diagnostic protocol nationwide -- iCAD's earnings will soar.

Thousands of hospitals, the vast majority of which already have CT machines or access to them, will adopt iCAD's virtual colonoscopy software. Over the near future, I think iCAD can become a $20 stock.

Action to Take --> Interested investors should not sit on the sidelines, though I'd suggest waiting for a slight pullback, as they often come in the days following a major announcement.

But the reality is I think this is a $20 stock and it is extraordinarily cheap right now given the future of the virtual colonoscopy and the company's very strong other diagnostic divisions.

http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewarticle/articleid/4394787