A Chesham-based medical company received a £2.4 million grant last week to carry out breakthrough breast cancer trials.

Lightpoint Medical, which moved to its offices on Moor Road last week, were awarded the money by the European Commission as part of a two-year project.

Currently breast cancer surgery is unsuccessful in a quarter of cases meaning women are forced to have further operations.

The large-scale clinical trial - which takes place at several hospitals in the UK, Germany and France - is investigating if this number can be reduced using state of the art scanning equipment to detect cancerous tissue.

The company’s CEO David Tuch said: “The technology is in its early stages but the potential is exciting.

“Currently the only way of surgeons detecting cancerous tissue is through sight and touch which means the medical need for this type of research is massive.

“We are driven to transform the cancer procedure in this country.”

The new scanning equipment, known as the LightPath Imaging System, is designed to help surgeons ensure they remove all cancerous tissue in a single operation and will be used in a study involving over 300 breast cancer patients.

The technology works by injecting the body with a synthetic sugar which is absorbed by the cancer and in turn gives off light signals which are picked up by the scanning equipment.

In addition to breast cancer surgery, Lightpoint Medical says the technology has the potential to be used for lung cancer and is currently undergoing trials for prostate cancer at the University Hospital London.