Breakthrough endoscopy imaging system arrives in Australia
Breakthrough endoscopy imaging system arrives in Australia |
| Thursday, 06 February 2014 16:04 |
| Bowel cancer accounted for 12.6 per cent of all new cancers in Australia according to the latest data published(1). Although colonoscopy exams prevent many colon cancer deaths and are considered the most sensitive method for detecting colorectal cancers, the procedure is not completely effective in preventing cancer cases. EndoChoiceRInc. recently unveiled research that showed that its new FuseT system significantly improves the accuracy of this procedure and greatly reduces the number of adenomas missed during surgery.
This technology has now been approved for commercial sale in Australia and local distributor Gallay Medical & Scientific has been astounded by the early attention Fuse has attracted. According to Business Development Manager, Mr Chris Vat, “Fuse is the first major breakthrough in endoscopy imaging for many years and the early demand from Australian & New Zealand based gastroenterologists certainly reflects that. We are excited to be launching a product which has such immense potential to improve patient clinical health outcomes in the short term.” EndoChoice’s Fuse system is a proprietary arrangement of three small cameras at the tip of a flexible endoscope. By using three cameras, the Fuse system allows doctors to see nearly twice as much surface area as they can with traditional endoscopes that only use one camera. Because of the folds that occur naturally in the colon and stomach anatomy, problem areas can easily go undetected when using traditional endoscopes. The Fuse system allows doctors to see into and behind those folds, effectively looking backwards as well as the traditional forward view. In a multi-centre trial conducted in the U.S., Europe and Israel, Prof. Ian Gralnek and a team of researchers performed a series of colonoscopies comparing traditional endoscopes and the new Fuse system. The endoscope used in the first examination was selected randomly. After the first inspection, each patient immediately underwent a second colonoscopy performed by the same doctor, but with the competing endoscope. The 185 patient trial showed traditional colonoscopes missed 42% of adenomas, while the Fuse system missed just 8%. After 28 adenomas were found using traditional endoscopes another 20 were found by Fuse for an incremental find rate of 71%. “Traditional endoscopes provide up to 170 degrees of forward vision. The advantage of Fuse is that it allows endoscopists to examine twice the anatomy with a wide 330 degree view,” said Ian Gralnek, MD, MSHS, FASGE, Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion -Israel Institute of Technology and Department of Gastroenterology, Rambam Health Care Campus. “Our findings are compelling and support the data from previous studies showing the limitations of traditional endoscopes. EndoChoice’s innovative Fuse technology dramatically improves the effectiveness of this life-saving procedure.” Multiple Fuse trials are imminent across Australia & New Zealand and, according to Chris Vat, local clinicians have wasted no time in expressing interest. “Doctors see that our technology is unique and many are beginning to understand the potential for their own practices. 2014 is certainly going to be a busy year for our team and we look forward to spreading the word about Fuse and its exciting potential.”  (1) http://canceraustralia.gov.au/affected-cancer/cancer-types/bowel-cancer/bowel-cancer-statistics  ENDS About EndoChoice About Gallay Medical & Scientific Pty Ltd Contact Gallay Medical & Scientific Pty Ltd |