Japan-based medtech company Olympus Corporation has signed a partnership with Revival Healthcare Capital to advance endoluminal robotics. US-based Swan EndoSurgical is a new company created by Olympus and Revival that aims to develop a robotic system that will revolutionise gastrointestinal (GI) patient care in the future.
Endoluminal robotics aims to empower more physicians to safely perform innovative techniques, enhancing patient access to treatment options that support safety and improved recovery times. This groundbreaking advancement has the potential to create new and significantly enhanced minimally invasive treatment options for major unmet medical needs by boosting precision and efficiency in procedures addressing ergonomic strain for healthcare professionals.
For decades, endoscopy—placing a flexible camera into an existing body orifice—has yielded early and accurate diagnoses of conditions such as GI tract cancer. In recent years, specialists, primarily gastroenterologists, have begun performing endoscopic therapeutic procedures, such as cancer resection, by inserting instruments through the endoscope. However, manual endoscopes and their instruments have limitations that make many advanced procedures within the lumen of the GI tract challenging and not widely available globally.
Endoluminal robots' ability to maneuver within the digestive tract and deploy flexible arms may enable more patients to benefit from safe and effective procedures, potentially avoiding invasive surgery. Compared to current therapeutic options, this innovation allows the early, safe, and effective treatment of lesions or tumors in the GI tract. Additionally, the technology could be applied to a number of other diseases.
