Health & Fitness
Health and Fitness
Health and Fitness 
Fri, April 27, 2012
April 27, 2012 09:00 ET
MELA Sciences Named 2012 Bronze Edison Award Winner
MELA Sciences Wins at NYC Ceremony for Its Flagship Product, MelaFind; Awards Celebrate 25 Years of Honoring Innovators and Innovation
IRVINGTON, NY--(Marketwire - Apr 27, 2012) - [ MELA Sciences, Inc. ] (
At the sold-out April 26 event in New York City, Dr. Joseph Gulfo, President and CEO of MELA Sciences, joined hundreds of senior executives from some of the world's most recognized companies to acknowledge the hard work and commitment of all of the 2012 Edison Award winners.
"We are thrilled that MelaFind, which is a first-of-its kind device, was recognized by the Edison Awards for its innovative excellence," said Dr. Gulfo. "The detection of melanoma at its most curable stages can result in decades of high-quality life saved, versus the treatment of this terrible disease at late stages, which offers several months of life extension, at best. In providing more information to dermatologists, MelaFind allows for more informed decisions when making difficult biopsy decisions in an effort to detect the disease at its earliest, most curable stages."
Being recognized with an Edison Award has become one of the highest accolades a company can receive in the name of innovation and business. The awards are named after Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) whose inventions, new product development methods and innovative achievements literally changed the world, garnered him 1,093 US patents and made him a household name around the world.
"As the pace of innovation quickens and the 'race to next' becomes ever more competitive, it's increasingly important to take a moment out of our hectic lives to recognize excellence in innovation and greatness in the teams of innovators who make our future. We are honored to present MELA Sciences with an Edison Award as one of the leading innovators of today and tomorrow," says Thomas Stat, 2012 Edison Awards Steering Committee Chairman.
The ballot of nominees for the Edison Awards was judged by a panel of more than 3,000 leading business executives including past award winners, members of the Marketing Executives Networking Group (MENG), academics and leaders in the fields of product development, design, engineering, science and medical.
This year, in a comprehensive, peer-review process, the nominees were judged on a new set of evaluation criteria developed in partnership with Nielsen. The new criteria establishes a new definition of innovation, leveraging the primary assessment themes of Concept, Value, Delivery and Impact.
About MELA Sciences, Inc.
MELA Sciences is a medical device company focused on the commercialization of its flagship product, MelaFind®, and its further design and development. MelaFind is a non-invasive tool to provide additional information to dermatologists during melanoma skin examinations. The device uses light from visible to near-infrared wavelengths to evaluate skin lesions up to 2.5 mm beneath the skin. The device provides information on a lesion's level of morphologic disorganization to provide additional objective information that may be used by dermatologists in the biopsy decision-making process. MelaFind has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for use in the US. In addition, MelaFind has received CE Mark approval and is approved for use in the European Union.
For more information on MELA Sciences, visit [ www.melasciences.com ].
About the Edison Awards
The Edison Awards represent the spirit of innovation personified by Thomas Edison, inspiring America's drive to remain in the forefront of creativity and ingenuity in the global economy. Sponsors of the 2012 Edison Awards include: Nielsen, USA TODAY, Discovery Communications, SCIENCE, CSRware, applepeak and ViridiSTOR.
For more information about the Edison Awards and a full list of winners, visit [ www.edisonawards.com ].