Olympus announced today that it agreed to acquire cloud-based AI endoscopy technology developer Odin Vision.
The agreement totals up to $79 million in upfront and milestone-based payments.
London-based Odin Vision develops a portfolio of commercially available computer-aided detection/diagnostic (CAD) solutions. It also holds an innovation pipeline of cloud-enabled applciations.
Clinicians and AI experts at the Wellcome / EPSRC Centre for Interventional and Surgical Sciences (WEISS) at University College London (UCL) founded Odin Vision. They created it with a mission to offer digital technology for a “new era” of healthcare supporting doctors to deliver higher quality care. The company aims to improve patient outcomes and patient experience while increasing value for healthcare providers.
Olympus said in a news release that Odin Vision aims to “create a paradigm shift” in AI integration for endoscopy. The company seeks to support procedures, including colonoscopy and esophagogastroduodenoscopy with its cloud-AI platform.
“Together with Olympus, we are embarking on an exciting journey to bring the next generation of cloud and AI healthcare applications to patients,” said Odin Vision CEO Peter Mountney.
How Olympus views this acquisition
The acquisition constitutes a strategic component of Olympus’ broader aim to transform clinical and procedural workflows. The company aims to use data to provide digital solutions that reduce administrative burden and assist point-of-care decision-making. This empowers healthcare professionals to deliver the best possible care, the company said.
Odin Vision’s technology complement’s Olympus’ Digital Endosuite vision. This envisions the use of AI and other digital technologies extending the reach of endotherapy. Olympus said it aims to “lead the future of digital health” with this platform. It wants to offer a range of cloud-connected software solutions built by itself and third-party development partners.
“Incorporating Odin Vision’s leading AI technology portfolio and innovation capabilities into the broader Olympus digital roadmap will create synergies that enable us to commercialize highly valuable endoscopy-focused software tools,” said Olympus COO Nacho Abia. “Their product portfolio fits perfectly with our broader efforts to enhance the capabilities we bring in support of clinicians and to help care teams harness decision-driving data.”