Ramat Gan, Israel-based GI View is hoping its single-use, self-propelled, 360 degree omni-directional Aer-O-Scope is going to change the way physicians perform colonoscopies.
The Aer-O-Scope is the first single-use colonoscope that is self-propelled and offers physicians a 360-degree view of a colon. GI View invented the scope and is bringing it to market to solve some of the issues existing in the market.
The single-use aspect of the scope avoids any chance of contamination that occurs during reprocessing and the self-propelled nature of the scope allows for faster and easier intubation of the colon and shorten the training curve.
"We were looking for something that would be more modern and easier to use," says GI View CEO Tal Simchony, PhD. "The self-propelled capability is one of the biggest features. Instead of the doctor having to intubate the colon with force to bring the device to the cecum, we use a low amount of gas pressure to do the same activity."
The Aer-O-Scope does away with traditional knobs and replaces it with a joystick. Mr. Simchony said the joystick makes it easier to control and helps erase most of the learning curve associated with colonoscope.
The 360-degree camera allows the scope to see polyps all around it. It is especially useful for finding polyps behind folds, he says. After a physician finishes a procedure, the scope is simply thrown away.
Aer-O-Scope recently received FDA 510(k) clearance. GI View developed the scope for the GI ASC market. In initial conversations, physicians are interested in the idea, and awaiting the results of the trials.
Mr. Simchony says a clinical trial is going to take place at a site in Israel and two sites in the U.S. It will attempt to prove the superiority of the Aer-O-Scope to the current scopes in the market. If everything is successful, GI View wants to sell the scope in the second half of 2017.
For GI View, the Aer-O-Scope is an opportunity to not only enter the U.S. market, but to curb one of the largest problems worldwide; physician shortages in rural areas. The decreased practice time needed to master the scope will allow providers in rural areas to perform colonoscopies. "You may not have a gastroenterologist but primary care physicians still need to be able to provide a solution to everyone," Mr. Simchony says.
"In the future we imagine [the Aer-O-Scope] could provide better coverage of the market in remote locations," Mr. Simchony says. "Once people realize the benefits of our self-propelled technology they'll really have a lot of respect for it. It'll make the doctor's life easier. They won't have to work as hard to do their job."