Olympus Medical Systems

The evolution of gastrointestinal endoscopy is a truly remarkable story, and advances in the diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities of these instruments continue to be made at a rapid pace. Since its introduction into clinical use in the early 1960s, GI endoscopy has transformed the discipline of gastroenterology and has become a crucial tool in cancer detection, diagnosis, and the management of GI disorders.

The new millennium has seen distinct changes in the pattern of gastrointestinal diseases in the Asia-Pacific region. With rapid modernization, lifestyle changes have been blamed for an increase in several diseases including gastroesophageal reflux disease, gastric, and colorectal cancer.

In order to address all those gastrointestinal diseases, Olympus being one of the global leaders in medical endoscopes, launched endocytoscopes, which enable gastroenterologists to see what it seemed impossible for ages.

Endocytoscopes enable real-time in vivo observation of cells and nuclei and open new possibilities for diagnostic endoscopy.

• Principle of endocyto observation
  Cell nuclei are stained with an appropriate dye. The objective lens is then brought into contact with the mucosa to observe the cells of the superficial mucosal layer.
• Light emitted by the light guide is sent into the cells and partially returned as scattered light, facilitating cytological observation of the superficial mucosal layer.
• Endocytoscopes offer 520× magnification for real-time observation of cells and nuclei
  Ground-breaking 520× magnification enables direct observation of cells and nuclei, allowing for optical diagnosis of challenging lesions in the upper- and lower-GI tract.
• Superior detection and delineation of esophageal lesions and intestinal metaplasia with brighter, more powerful narrow-band imaging.
• Superior detection and delineation of colorectal lesions with brighter, more powerful narrow-band imaging.
• Waterjet increases mucosal cleaning efficiency.
• High-force transmission and variable stiffness facilitate smooth maneuverability
  Endocytoscopes offer new possibilities
  By using endocytoscopes, the gastroenterologist can do a confirmed diagnosis whether the lesion/polyp is normal or cancer while doing endoscopy/colonoscopy.
• This will reduce the 7–10 days of time required in normal situations, where samples will be processed and diagnosed by pathology department.
• By using endocytoscope, treatment can be started to the patient without waiting for pathology report as the endocytoscopes give immediate diagnosis and confirmation.
• Clinical applications of endocytoscopes
  High diagnostic performance for differentiating between neoplastic and non-neoplastic colorectal diminutive polyps.
• Unnecessary biopsies can be reduced by improving the ability of endocytoscopy.
• Endocytoscopes provide additional diagnostic information for differentiation between neoplasia and non-neoplasia in the esophagus.
• Endoscopic diagnosis with high confidence made possible by in vivo cell observation.
• Vascular findings obtained by endocytoscopy with NBI observation may be useful for invasion-depth diagnosis.
• Detection of NBI-negative early-stage cancers and diagnosis of non-erosive gastroesophageal reflux disease.