Growth in the gastrointestinal endoscopy products market is being driven by advancements in GI diagnostics and screening technologies and growing adoption of high definition cameras and other enhanced imaging tools designed to improve diagnostic sensitivity and specificity in vivo, decrease the number of unnecessary procedures, and improve patient outcomes. Looking to the future, technological innovation will continue to impact growth in this market as emerging minimally invasive devices help redefine the diagnosis and treatment of GI disorders.

At the recent 12th World Congress of Endoscopic Surgery, hosted by the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons, physicians discussed the challenges of identifying patients at risk of esophageal cancer. Barrett’s esophagus has long been known as a risk factor, but it remains a mystery as to how to predict which patients with Barrett’s will progress to esophageal cancer and who to screen in order to prevent it,

Spirus Medical Inc. has developed spiral endoscopy technology that it says enables better access to the gastrointestinal tract for diagnosing and treating GI disorders. The company's platform converts rotational movement into forward advancement, causing its devices to be drawn into, rather than pushed into the body.

Early detection of colorectal cancer can dramatically improve an individual's chances for avoiding this deadly disease, and screening colonoscopy is the gold standard for CRC prevention. One detractor, however, is patient avoidance due to perceived discomfort of the bowel preparation process and the colonoscopy itself. Mitigation of these concerns has prompted companies to look for less invasive or even noninvasive screening solutions that have the same sensitivity as diagnostic colonoscopy. These emerging technologies range from advanced endoscopic devices to new methods of in vivo tissue characterization.