The Endolumik Gastric Calibration Tube emits near-infrared light for enhanced visibility during bariatric procedures.
Endolumik’s story started a few years ago as the FDA sounded the alarm over the risks of internal surgical staplers.
In 2019, the federal agency warned healthcare providers that it had received more than 41,000 medical device reports (MDRs) related to surgical staplers and staples for internal use from 2011 to 2018. Those MDRs tallied more than 32,000 malfunctions, at least 9,000 serious injuries and 366 deaths.
Two years later, the FDA increased the risk level associated with the staplers, reclassifying the devices from Class I to Class II and subjecting them to premarket review and special controls.
Bariatric surgeon Dr. Nova Szoka had already been working on a device that could prevent some of those injuries. She envisioned an illuminated gastric calibration tube that …