Optim LLC’s FDA-approved ENTity VL Video Endoscopy System is now available for purchase in the U.S., following its unveiling this month at the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF) Annual Meeting in Chicago.

The system is the company’s first video-based imaging product within the medical space and provides visual depictions to help physicians better diagnose Ear-Nose-and-Throat (ENT) disorders and show video recordings of exams to patients.

“What a video product allows them to do is be able to share their findings directly with the patient,” Paul Joyce, president and CEO of Optim, told HCB News. “So, patient education is a significant opportunity with our video scope as well as being able to record and being able to track the progression of the treatment for their patients. There are some means for them to do that today but it’s costly and it’s not as simple to use. These are benefits moving into video scopes in general.”

Most ENT practices currently rely on fiber optic tools for diagnosis with no ability to record and share information with patients. Those that do use video endoscopy tools often end up paying high fees for these devices.

The system is equipped with a flexible video laryngoscope with integrated LED illumination, a streamlined digital video processor and an imaging capture suite with a 22-inch touch-screen display for one-touch image and documentation management.

Physicians can also add the ENTity VL Stroboscopy unit to the device to assist in diagnosing voice disorders. This allows ENT practices to save time and money by not having to rely on a separate and more expensive system for stroboscopy purposes. It also can deliver results to EHRs immediately.

Joyce says that the affordability and easy use of the system create the potential for it to become a standard tool for ENT practices.

“It’s a little more ergonomically designed than the traditional designs that are on the market,” he said. “Even greater importance, it’s an affordable system, so the pricing for the package will be better than the larger, more complicated systems that are on the market. We’ve packaged and designed this system with an eye toward taking a doctor who is using a fiber scope for their visualization needs and to bring them into a video world cost-effectively.”

The U.S. is the first country where the device has been launched on the market. Optim plans to eventually release the product in other countries.

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