Delphinus Medical Technologies has appointed Scott White as chief commercial officer, the imaging company said Tuesday morning.

White is tasked with leading commercialization efforts for Delphinus’ 3D whole breast ultrasound tomography system, dubbed SoftVue.

In an effort to meet current and future customer demand for the screening technology, the company, founded in 2010 as a spin-off of the Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit, has expanded head count by 30% so far this year, noted Delphinus CEO Mark Forchette.

Last September, the company announced the closing of a $30 million Series D financing to fuel SoftVue’s worldwide commercialization. The round drew participation from new and existing investors, including Arboretum Ventures, Beringea and North Coast Technology Investors.

Approved by the Food and Drug Administration in October 2021 as an adjunct screening modality to mammography in asymptomatic women, SoftVue is designed to provide a new annual screening solution for individuals with dense breast tissue, also known as dense breast parenchyma. 

Dense breast tissue, or fibrous tissue which can hide cancerous lesions on mammograms, affects some 40% of women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The condition makes women four times more likely to develop breast cancer.

Mammography alone can miss cancer in women with dense breasts, because dense breast tissue like cancer typically appears white on a mammogram, making it more challenging to detect cancer early. 

Meant to address the unmet clinical need for early breast cancer detection, SoftVue characterizes tissue by recording reflection, speed and direction of sound waves moving through breast tissue. Traditional ultrasound utilizes only reflection, Delphinus said.

The system has been shown to identify more cancers with greater accuracy and potentially fewer biopsies than full field digital mammography alone. The exams can be performed at the same appointment as screening mammograms.

As for White, the seasoned medical-imaging exec brings more than 20 years of experience in commercial, operations and finance leadership. Prior to joining Delphinus, he was chief commercial officer of Hyperfine, developer of a bedside neurological magnetic resonance imaging platform.

Additionally, White previously served as VP of global sales at Rapid Micro Biosystems and area VP at Intuitive Surgical.