Full Spectrum Endoscopy Reduces “Miss Rate” of Adenomas

The EndoChoice (Atlanta, GA, USA) Fuse system is a proprietary arrangement of three small cameras at the tip of a flexible gastrointestinal (GI) endoscope. By using three cameras, the system allows doctors to see nearly twice as much surface area as they can with traditional endoscopes, since the wider angles allow examination of folds that occur naturally in the colon and stomach anatomy, problem areas that can easily go undetected when using traditional one-camera endoscopes.

In a study conducted by researchers at the Israel Institute of Technology (Technion; Haifa, Israel) and other institutions, researchers compared traditional endoscopes to the Fuse system. The endoscope used in the first examination was selected randomly, and the patient immediately underwent a second colonoscopy performed by the same doctor with the Fuse endoscope. The 185 patient trial showed traditional colonoscopes missed 42% of adenomas, while the Fuse system missed just 8%, reflecting an incremental find rate of 71%. The study was presented at Digestive Disease Week (DDW), held during May 2013 in Orlando (FL, USA).

“Traditional endoscopes provide up to 170° of forward vision. The advantage of Fuse is that it allows endoscopists to examine twice the anatomy with a wide 330° view,” said study presenter Ian Gralnek, MD, of the Technion. “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.”

“Since we announced the expansion of our company in January, our teams in Israel, Germany, and the United States have been working diligently to develop and launch the revolutionary Fuse endoscopy system,” said Mark Gilreath, Founder and CEO of EndoChoice, commenting on the Fuse system receiving the approval of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), announced during DDW 2013.

Related Links:
EndoChoice
Israel Institute of Technology