VeriTeQ Corporation, a provider of implantable medical device identification and radiation dose measurement technologies, announced today that a new breast implant registry will be launched in England beginning early this year to track breast implant procedures performed in the country. Health ministers in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will also be encouraged to join the register.

Health ministers in England are expected to announce the launch of the pilot registry this month, and legislation to make it a statutory requirement is expected later this year. The cosmetic procedures market in the UK totaled £750m in 2005, and reached £2.3bn in 2010. It is forecast to reach £3.6bn by 2015.

VeriTeQ’s FDA cleared Q Inside Safety Technology™ acts as an electronic serial number to enable physicians and patients to access a secure online database to retrieve implant-specific data, such as serial number, manufacturer name, date of manufacture, lot number, volume, size, and other data. Q Inside Safety Technology can be the technology option to aid the registry by providing accurate device identification that cannot be lost or entered incorrectly into a patient’s electronic health record.

Following the Poly Implant Prothese (“PIP”) scandal that occurred throughout the EU in which tens of thousands of women received defective breast implants, legislators and the healthcare community are focused on improving healthcare records and device traceability through a mandated registry, much like the registry currently used to record hip and knee surgeries.

“We have continually pronounced our belief that all medical devices should be able to be identified non-invasively from within the body, without the need to explant a device, in the event of a safety issue or recall,” said Scott R. Silverman, Chairman and CEO of VeriTeQ. “The PIP scare is an unfortunate yet perfect example of why it is critical for this type of accurate device identification. There are still many women in the EU who do not know that they received PIP implants, which carry a significantly higher chance of rupture.”