Medtronic added 83 GI Genius endoscopy modules to its Health Equity Assistance Program's existing 50, expanding access to colon cancer screenings to 62 facilities in the nation's medically underserved communities on July 15.
"We are excited to provide this novel technology to our patients. By utilizing GI Genius, we have the potential to increase our adenoma detection rate and reduce the incidence of colorectal cancer in a high-risk and vulnerable population," Benjamin Renelus, MD, a gastroenterologist at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, said in a July 15 news release by Medtronic. "The hospital's hope is that the thousands of patients receiving colonoscopy cancer screenings each year at our facility will benefit from Medtronic's GI Genius intelligent endoscopy module with the potential for earlier detection and better patient outcomes."
The Health Equity Assistance Program was created by Medtronic and the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy in February 2020.
Medtronic supplied the new units with support from Amazon's Health Equity Initiative, a $40 million program offering Amazon promotional credit and technical services to address global health disparities in underserved and underrepresented communities.