08 Jan Breast surgery device by company with UW founders now in use
Wilke, Lee and Van der Weide
A new breast surgery marker device, developed by a company founded by three UW-Madison faculty, is expected to be used by about 15 hospital systems by the end of January.
The system, approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration in April, uses wireless technology, instead of a protruding wire, to help surgeons locate and remove breast tumors. UW Health and SSM Health Dean Medical Group are using it.
The technology was developed by Elucent Medical, based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. The company was founded by Dr. Lee Wilke, director of the UW Health Breast Center; Dr. Fred Lee Jr., a UW-Madison professor of radiology; Daniel van der Weide, a UW-Madison professor of engineering; and CEO Laura King, of Milwaukee.