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CytoAstra develops the Cytophone, a device that shines laser light through the skin to count melanoma cells travelling in the blood, without a needle. It is being tested in people with melanoma to see whether it can detect spread early.
CytoAstra is a spin-out of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), co-founded by James Suen and Vladimir Zharov and a tenant of the UAMS BioVentures incubator. Its platform, in vivo photoacoustic flow cytometry, uses the Cytophone, with two pulsed lasers and an ultrasound transducer array, to detect rare circulating cells in peripheral blood vessels through intact skin; the company says the FDA determined it to be a non-significant risk device and that it is also developing a version that can treat as well as detect. The trial NCT06488365 tests in vivo liquid biopsy for early detection of metastatic melanoma. The company also works on malaria detection with an NIAID STTR phase 1 grant of 600,000 US dollars. Its first registered cancer trial, NCT06488365, was posted on ClinicalTrials.gov in July 2024.
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