GI View Ltd. is developing cutting edge endoscopes for the gastrointestinal market, introducing innovations that set its products a generation apart. GI View is committed to meeting the needs of this rapidly growing market by delivering innovative, technologically advanced devices that should enable its anticipated growth.
An Expanding Market
The Company's first product, the Aer-O-Scope™ is aimed at the multi billion dollar market for screening colonoscopy. It is estimated that the potential world market for screening colonoscopy is about 30 million procedures per year and that there is insufficient capacity to meet existing demand and future growth of the colorectal cancer screening market.
Breaking the Mold
The Aer-O-Scope™ introduces a fresh approach to colonoscopy from almost every angle. It is believed that the advances brought forward by this product could enable practitioners to improve patient care in a cost effective way making new work flows possible. Its innovative design carries the potential for greater patient comfort, paving the way to higher patient compliance.
Impacting Clinical Processes
The Aer-O-Scope™ introduces a level of automation that could enable practitioners to expect consistently high quality images from every procedure. The self-propelled and self navigating motion mechanism as well as the superior optical capabilities of the Aer-O-Scope™ could potentially reduce the time needed for manual maneuvering, shifting physicians focus to analysis of the real-time and recorded images. This opens new possibilities for maximizing clinical throughput.
Potentially Superior Solution for Patients
The Aer-O-Scope™ could provide patients with a procedure that is less uncomfortable and painful. In addition, while colonoscopy is the current golden standard, its sensitivity is about 90% when performed by a highly skilled practitioner. In contrast, the technology behind the Aer-O-Scope™ could provide more consistent viewing of the entire colonic mucosal surface.
Patented Technology
To date, the Company has 2 issued patents and numerous pending patents covering multiple aspects of the technology and method of use including the mechanical motion mechanism, optical design, and computer algorithms used in the Aer-O-Scope™.
Making Business Sense
GI View's technology holds the potential for a complete visual examination of the colon and is expected to be reimbursed as colonoscopy. GI View believes that once its device receives regulatory clearance, physicians performing screening colonoscopy with the Aer-O-Scope™ are likely to be reimbursed using existing or similar reimbursement codes for screening colonoscopies.
What's Next?
The Aer-O-Scope™ is in final stages of development and has been successfully tested on healthy human volunteers. Recently, GI View has been granted ISO 13485:2003 certification of its quality system, and received CE Marking of its Aer-O-Scope™ device. The company expects to file a 510(k) with the FDA and to launch the Aer-O-Scope™ commercially by the second half of 2009.
Future Products
Development of the second generation Aer-O-Scope™ is already underway, adding therapeutic capabilities such as tissue biopsy and polypectomy, all supported by the current workstation. Future developments include voice controlled operation, pattern recognition algorithms and a tracking system that locates and memorizes device position facilitating return for later treatment.
