Under a new agreement, Olympus Corporation will oversee the sales and marketing of endoscopic ultrasound systems designed by Canon Medical Systems Corporation, with the technology to be based on elements from both the Olympus Ultrasound Endoscope and Canon’s Aplio i800 diagnostic ultrasound system.

Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) allows clinicians to view organs at close range for more detailed diagnoses. In some countries, its diagnostic capabilities are considered to be on par with contrast-enhanced CT and MR, and new techniques in the field have increased demand for it as an interventional tool.

Both companies will combine their expertise and individual capabilities to improve the quality of images produced with these solutions and their performance as diagnostic and minimally invasive treatment tools. They plan to expand their sales reach globally, starting in Europe and Japan.

“We are very pleased to collaborate with Olympus, a leading endoscope manufacturer, in the EUS field, which we have not been able to cover adequately until now, to deliver superior solutions to more patients,” said Toshio Takiguchi, president and CEO of Canon Medical Systems Corporation, in a statement.

Aplio i800 EUS is a premium diagnostic ultrasound system with a wider field of view, enhanced microvascular imaging for color flow imaging, transducers that increase sensitivity and resolution, and Smart Sensor 3D, a feature for acquiring accurate 3D volumes with standard linear or convex transducers. It also has innovations for increasing image contrast, reducing speckle noise, and facilitating better spatial resolution for distinguishing different tissues and anatomical structures.

Since the 1960s, Canon Medical has been developing diagnostic ultrasound systems and helped develop the most basic type of ultrasound, amplitude display mode (A-mode) systems for neurosurgery and linear electronic scanning solutions. The quality of its images and proprietary technology is derived from D-THI, an image quality enhancement technology, and SMI, an imaging technology that delineates slow and fine blood flow, which has been difficult to image in the past.

Olympus has developed an extensive EUS portfolio for gastrointestinal procedures, including its Evis family. This consists of its EVIS EXERA II Ultrasound Gastrovideoscope Olympus GF Type UCT180; EVIS LUCERA Ultrasound Gastrovideoscope Olympus GF Type UCT260; EVIS EUS Ultrasound Gastrointestinal Videoscope Olympus GF-UE190; and EVIS EUS Ultrasound Gastrointestinal Videoscope Olympus GF-UE290. These solutions are equipped with features for better control and maneuverability, improved imaging depth, and radial array and scanning capabilities.

“Canon Medical and Olympus will continue to introduce products and technology that address the needs of the patients, healthcare professionals, and the broader medical industry,” said Frank Drewalowski, executive officer and endoscopic solutions division head of Olympus Corporation.

Endoscopy Homepage