PENTAX Medical Announces U.S. Deal to Distribute Third Eye Panoramic Imaging System for Colon Cancer Screening
Provides ‘Panoramic’ View to Detect Potentially Cancerous Polyps
Standard Colonoscopes May Not See
MONTVALE, NJ – PENTAX Medical Company, a healthcare industry leader in diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy, announced it has entered into an agreement with California-based, Avantis Medical Systems, Inc. to distribute through its U.S. salesforce, the Avantis Third Eye® Panoramic™ device, a wide-angle visualization tool that significantly expands the view obtained from traditional colonoscopes during screenings for colon cancer.
According to a clinical study in Annals of Internal Medicine, approximately two-thirds of the potentially cancerous polyps that are missed in standard colonoscopies are located behind folds in the wall of the colon.1The Third Eye Panoramic device, which is attached to the tip of a PENTAX Medical colonoscope, adds two side-viewing cameras, creating a panoramic video image (approximately 330°) that enables endoscopists to see behind the folds. The device uses technology that has been shown in clinical studies to help physicians find up to 23-25 percent more pre-cancerous polyps than a standard colonoscope alone.2
“The Third Eye Panoramic device uses advanced optics, imaging, and software analysis to better enable diagnosis and early detection of colon cancer with current PENTAX Medical scopes without compromising the high-definition image quality and superior handling characteristics that endoscopists have come to expect from us,” said David Woods, President and CEO, PENTAX Medical, Americas. “We continue to innovate and bring new solutions to the market that improve clinical outcomes, enhance the patient and provider experience, and reduce overall costs. This is the latest example of our commitment to enabling our customers to meet their Triple Aim objectives.”
According to the American Cancer Society, colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in both men and women,3 and that people should be screened for the disease with a colonoscopy once every 10 years, beginning at age 504. Colon cancer is expected to cause about 50,630 deaths in 20185.
“We are very pleased to be partnering with PENTAX Medical to bring our industry-leading and lifesaving solutions to the broader U.S. market,” said Tony DiTonno, Chairman of Avantis Medical Systems, Inc. “We evaluated many options for distribution in the U.S., and PENTAX Medical was our overwhelmingly positive first choice.”
About PENTAX Medical
PENTAX Medical is a division of Hoya Group. Its mission is to improve the standard of patient care and quality of healthcare delivery by providing the best endoscopy, informatics, speech, voice, and swallowing assessment products and services with a focus on QUALITY, CLINICALLY RELEVANT INNOVATION, and SIMPLICITY. Through leading edge R&D and manufacturing, PENTAX Medical provides endoscopic imaging devices and solutions to the global medical community. Headquartered in Japan, PENTAX Medical has a worldwide focus and presence with R&D, regional sales, service, and in-country facilities around the globe. PENTAX Medical employees represent the diverse countries where we do business, allowing us to provide innovative solutions tailored to meet local needs. For more information, visit www.pentaxmedical.com.
About Avantis Medical
For over a decade, Avantis Medical Systems has been a leader in cancer screening and detection. The company has developed an imaging platform technology – utilizing advanced optics, imaging, and software analysis – for the screening and early detection of cancer, with colon cancer as its first clinical application. The company’s Third Eye Panoramic device has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and is now commercially available in the U.S. For more information, visit www.avantismedicalsystems.com.
1 Pickhardt PJ, Nugent PA, Mysliwiec PA, et al. Location of adenomas missed by optical colonoscopy. Ann Intern Med 2004;141:352-9.
2 Siersema PD, Rastogi A, DeMarco DC, et al. Retrograde-viewing device improves adenoma detection rate in colonoscopies for surveillance and diagnostic workup. World J Gastroenterol 2012;18:3400-8.
3 https://www.cancer.org/research/cancer-facts-statistics/colorectal-cancer-facts-figures.html
4 https://www.cancer.org/cancer/colon-rectal-cancer/detection-diagnosis-staging/acs-recommendations.html
5 https://www.cancer.org/cancer/colon-rectal-cancer/about/key-statistics.html
