No End To RFID Utility: Health Application
Given Imaging to launch new diagnostic capsule in November
By Eli Daniel
Given Imaging (Nasdaq:GIVN) will launch its M2A
Patency System in November, the Yokne'am-based
company announced yesterday.
Given Imaging said its newest
video-in-a-capsule will be
unveiled at the 11th United
European Gastrointestinal Week
(UEGW) Conference, taking
place in Madrid from November 1
to 5.
A simple prep-less, noninvasive
procedure, the M2A Patency
System is designed to help doctors diagnose the
presence of obstructing strictures and
adhesions in the gastrointestinal tract.
Yoram Ashery, the company's vice-president of
business development, said yesterday that the
new capsule dissolves in two to three days if
not excreted. Its failure to pass through the
digestive system in that time indicates a bowel
blockage.
At first, Given Imaging will be launching the
capsule in Europe, Ashery said, but the company
expects U.S. Food and Drug Administration
approval for marketing in that country to be
forthcoming during 2004.
Specifically, the Patency System (patency as in
"patently obvious") consists of an ingestible,
dissolvable capsule that is the same size as
the M2A Capsule Endoscope, which is 26
millimeters long, and 11 millimeters in
diameter.
The capsule comes equipped with a tiny Radio
Frequency ID tag. The doctor uses a hand-held
scanner to receive the signal from the RFID
tag.
Additionally, the capsule contains barium. If
the patient fails to excrete it, the doctor can
find it within the body using the hand-held
scanner. He or she can then determine the exact
location of the obstruction using fluoroscopy.
"The launch of the Patency Capsule is consistent
with our mission of being the global leader in
providing patient-friendly solutions for the
gastrointestinal community," said Gavriel
Meron, president and CEO of Given Imaging. "The
Patency System, along with the M2A Capsule
Endoscope, further enhances the
gastroenterologist's ability to treat small
bowel disorders by allowing, in most cases, the
completion of a full workup in the GI clinic."
Given Imaging's patency system has received the
CE-Mark, which allows it to be marketed
throughout the European Union. Results from
studies conducted at five European sites will
be presented at the coming meeting in Madrid.