FDA Clears New Disposable Fog-Free Articulating 5mm Laparoscope

Xenocor Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared the new Xenocor Disposable 5mm Articulating Laparoscope for minimally invasive abdominal and thoracic surgery. The Xenoscope 5mm articulating disposable laparoscope is designed to improve image quality, reduce fog, lower hospital costs, and reduce bio-hazard risk for the patient and staff.
   
“Disposable laparoscopes can reduce hospital costs and prevent cross-contamination between patients,” said John Langell M.D., president, NEOMED, Greater Cleveland. “Disposable scopes can also reduce downtime and waiting, while providing consistent image quality for each use.” 

A video of the product can be viewed here.  
 
Laparoscopic procedures typically include large, expensive image processing systems (or “towers”) and re-usable surgical scopes that the hospital cleans in between uses. The towers can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and cleaning the scopes is time consuming, expensive, and imperfect resulting in patient cross-contamination risk.
 
“Reducing fog on the scope is important too,” continued Dr. Langell. “Most scopes fog during the procedure forcing us to remove the scope, clean it, and reinsert. A combined disposable and fog-free technology can improve image quality and reduce procedural time…both are good for patient care.”
  
The new articulating Xenoscope includes a disposable 5mm camera on a rigid shaft with a 90-degree articulating tip with a low-cost compact reusable Xenobox video processor. The video processor allows the image to be displayed on any HD monitor or a hospital’s existing tower system. Clinicians dispose of the Xenoscope after each procedure to reduce patient and staff biohazard risk which ensures the next procedure includes a new non-contaminated endoscope.
     
“The Xenoscope does not require large up-front capital equipment expenditures,” said Evan Kelso, CEO of Xenocor. “Xenoscopes have sophisticated image processors for consistent image quality but are still easy to use with universal ‘plug-and-play’ functionality. With a single-use instrument, we can help reduce patient and staff contamination risks due to a dirty scope or incorrect processing. Patients win and hospitals win.”
 
The Xenoscope’s technology is also designed to reduce fog as demonstrated in initial clinical use. Reducing fog can improve image quality to improve patient care, reduce procedure time, and costs.
 
The Articulating Xenoscope is FDA cleared to be used in diagnostic and therapeutic procedures for endoscopy and endoscopic surgery within the thoracic and peritoneal cavities including the female reproductive organs.