Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) announced today that it received Health Canada license for its GI Genius intelligent endoscopy module.
The company’s Brampton, Ontario-based Medtronic Canada subsidiary received the license for the computer-aided detection (CADe) system that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to highlight regions of the colon suspected to have visual characteristics consistent with different types of mucosal abnormalities.
According to a news release, the GI Genius intelligent endoscopy module — which Medtronic touts as compatible with any colonoscope video — provides physicians with a tool to fight against colorectal cancer.
GI Genius uses advanced AI to highlight the presence of possible precancerous lesions with a visual marker in real-time. Advanced algorithms process the colonoscopy images to identify and mark polyp abnormalities, including ones that could otherwise go detected under the observation of the human eye.
Medtronic said the GI Genius module has resulted in a 14% absolute increase in adenoma detection rate (ADR) compared to colonoscopy alone for both flat (42% increase) and polyploid (36% increase) lesions in studies.
“Medtronic is committed to helping to improve outcomes for patients with colon cancer,” Medtronic Canada President Neil Fraser said in the release. “GI Genius is currently the only colonoscope-agnostic AI platform designed to enhance polyp detection. Simply put, this technology will help save lives by improving colon cancer detection rates.”
Medtronic is the exclusive worldwide distributor of the GI Genius module, which was developed and is manufactured by Cosmo Pharmaceuticals.