CENTER VALLEY, Pa., May 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Olympus, a global technology leader in designing and delivering innovative solutions for medical and surgical procedures, among other core businesses, announced today its co-development agreement with ai4gi, a commercial joint venture between Satis Operations and Imagia. Their Artificial Intelligence (AI) solution for real-time clinical decision support during screening and surveillance colonoscopy procedures will be exclusively offered by Olympus America Inc. (OAI). This co-development agreement is intended to raise the bar for all physicians to ultimately improve clinical outcomes, reduce overall costs and enhance quality of life for patients.

The integration of AI into the colonoscopy procedure holds great promise for the future of GI screening for physicians and patients. Ai4gi initially developed this clinical decision support tool using a large volume of unaltered endoscopic colonoscopy videos from global physician experts in combination with deep learning training models. By incorporating AI, Olympus is investing in technology that will elevate all clinicians while unlocking new ways to treat disease for patients. This is the first co-development agreement of its kind in the U.S. market and is the first time an AI proof-of-concept has been demonstrated clinically in real-time in a screening colonoscopy application. 

Colon cancer continues to be a major health issue in the U.S. According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 140,000 Americans—men and women—are diagnosed with colon cancer every year, and over 50,000 die from the disease. While colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cancer killer in the U.S. among men and women combined, it is the most detectable and treatable form if detected early. Olympus is the leading manufacturer of medical devices used to peer inside the human body to help medical practitioners detect, diagnose, and treat gastrointestinal diseases such as colon cancer.

"ai4gi's solutions to early colon cancer recognition are going to be a game-changer in the field of Gastroenterology" said Dr. Michael Byrne, CEO of Satis Operations and Clinical Lead at ai4gi. "These solutions are what the industry needs for more timely and more effective patient care, and Olympus is an ideal industry partner to drive clinical adoption of this technology. As doctors, we all need help to improve our practice, so why not use the best technology available?"

"We are thrilled to add Artificial Intelligence to our already powerful endoscopy portfolio which we feel is an emerging and essential core competency in this space," said Kurt Heine, Group Vice President of the Endoscopy Division at Olympus America Inc. "Our vision is to add Artificial Intelligence to our platform to improve the assessment of colon cancer screening as well as potentially other endoscopic procedures. Better visibility, along with increased efficiency, can bring us closer to our goal of improving quality of care, reducing healthcare costs and enhancing patient satisfaction." 

"We are excited about the potential of our clinical AI solutions to promote paradigm shifts in the standard of care for endoscopic procedures," said Frédéric Francis, CEO of Imagia. "The clinical decision support from AI may benefit patients by enabling physicians to better predict polyp histology in real-time."

Olympus and ai4gi's collaboration will be highlighted at the largest annual Gastroenterology conference, Digestive Diseases Week (DDW), in Washington DC, June 2-5, 2018, booth #2833. 

About Olympus Corporation of the Americas

Olympus is a global technology leader, crafting innovative optic and digital solutions in medical technologies; life sciences; industrial solutions; and cameras and audio products. Our solutions enable specialists to look inside the human body, further scientific research, ensure public safety and capture images of the world. Throughout our nearly 100-year history, Olympus has focused on being true to society and making people's lives healthier, safer and more fulfilling. 

Olympus Corporation of the Americas (OCA)—a wholly owned subsidiary of Olympus Corporation in Tokyo, Japan—is headquartered in Center Valley, Pennsylvania and employs more than 5,000 employees throughout locations in North and South America. For more information, visit www.olympusamerica.com.

About ai4gi

ai4gi is a commercial joint venture between Satis Operations and Imagia. Satis is a medical consultancy founded to deliver cutting-edge solutions in the field of Gastroenterology, by bringing quality data, clinical direction, market opportunity insight, academic awareness and visibility, and global GI key-opinion leadership to the Medtech and Biotech industries. Imagia is an AI healthcare company developing the Evidens collaboration ecosystem to unite creative minds in AI and healthcare to power discovery at scale. Through Evidens, clinical insights from member hospitals are united with AI expertise from Imagia and its AI research partners.  We partner with pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers to commercialize clinical AI solutions to improve personalized outcomes for patients. With an initial focus on personalized oncology, our mission is to leverage advances in AI to reveal the full picture of personalized healthcare.

For more information, visit www.ai4gi.com and www.imagia.com 

SOURCE Olympus Corporation of the Americas

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