The Future of Endoscopy – A Glimpse into Endoscopy Development from Olympus

Olympus is the undisputed leader in the global endoscopy industry, with a global market share of 65%, and an even more dominant 69% share in China. Founded in 1919, Olympus initially focused on microscopes. Leveraging its accumulated expertise in optics and mechanics, it developed the world's first medical gastric photography camera in 1950, commercializing it in 1952, paving the way for modern endoscopy. In 1964, Olympus released its fiber endoscope, and in 1966, the first endoscope with therapeutic capabilities was introduced, equipped with a biopsy channel and minimally invasive surgical instruments, promoting the integration of endoscopic diagnosis and treatment. In 2002, it released a high-definition endoscope system. After 10 years of development, EVIS III was launched in Japan in 2012, and the classic product EVIS ELITE 290 was launched in China in 2014. Significant improvements were made in resolution, system algorithms, and operational procedures, making it considered the most advanced electronic endoscope system currently available.

Olympus Global Endoscopy Business Development Events

Following the 2011 accounting scandal, Olympus immediately positioned medical devices as the core of its revitalization plan. By March 2013, Olympus had recovered from the scandal and returned to profitability, largely thanks to the newly launched endoscopes. In fiscal year 2017, medical business revenue accounted for approximately 78.4% of Olympus's total revenue, with endoscopy accounting for over half of the medical division's overall sales, making it Olympus's most profitable segment.

Olympus Fiscal Year 2017 Revenue Structure

Olympus possesses an overwhelming technological advantage in the entire endoscopy field and will maintain its monopoly for a considerable period. Its technological development direction represents the direction of the entire soft endoscope technology, a path pursued by all its followers.

Olympus China Endoscopy Business Development Events

Higher imaging resolution and brightness.Olympus's currently promoted product, the EVLIS290, boasts a 2-megapixel product, taking a leading position in the industry. In 2015, Olympus and Sony jointly developed a 4K surgical laparoscopic endoscope system, with a display resolution four times that of the previous generation, reaching 3840*2160 pixels and higher.

Stronger image processing and information extraction technology.Olympus holds multiple patents for image processing technologies, including dual-focus magnification technology, Narrow Band Imaging (NBI), Autofluorescence Imaging (AFI), and Infrared Imaging (IRI). These image processing systems improve imaging of the examination area, increasing the contrast between lesions and other tissues to enhance observation accuracy. For example, Narrow Band Imaging (NBI) uses special blue light to observe the mucosal surface, allowing the digestive tract mucosa to distinguish lesion morphology without staining, aiding in the detection of early digestive tract cancers. Autofluorescence Imaging (AFI), using a high-sensitivity CCD image sensor, captures subtle changes in the mucosa under fluorescence, detecting lesions easily missed under conventional light examination. NBI and AFI are compatible with conventional observation functions and can be switched during operation on a single endoscope system.

Olympus NBI Imaging Compared to Ordinary White Light Imaging

Wider field of view angle, bending degree, and depth of field.The field of view angle of a general endoscope can reach 140°, while all Olympus EVIS 290 series colonoscopes can achieve a 170° wide-angle view. The wide-angle endoscope illuminates the periphery of the image and a wider 30° field of view, helping doctors more effectively detect mucosal lesions and reducing patient discomfort from angle adjustments. Mainstream gastroscopes can generally bend 210° up, 90° down, and 100° left and right. The bending angle of colonoscopes can reach 180° up and down, and 100° left and right, with a depth of field of 3-100mm.

Olympus EVIS 290 Wide-Angle Illustration

Application of new materials to reduce patient discomfort during tube insertion.Taking the Olympus flagship product EVIS 290 as an example, new material technologies are used to reduce patient discomfort, such as Responsive Insertion Technology (RIT), which comprehensively assists colonoscopy insertion, making insertion smoother and reducing patient discomfort. The in-body portion of the endoscope also uses a special design, making the insertion portion moderately soft and hard, neither too hard to cause pain nor too soft to hinder insertion.

CMOS replacing CCD.In addition to high-performance optical lenses, electronic endoscope imaging depends on the front-end camera module, where the image sensor plays a leading role. Commonly used sensors include CCD and CMOS image sensors. Compared to CCD (Charge Coupled Device), CMOS technology has lower power consumption (only 1/3 under the same conditions), fast information reading, high resolution, low distortion, and small size. However, it has a higher technical barrier. Early CMOS had a significant gap in color sensitivity compared to CCD, but with the continuous development of SLR camera technology and the advancement of back-illuminated technology, the low sensitivity issue of CMOS has been resolved, and the gap in image quality between CMOS and CCD has gradually narrowed. Its low power consumption, no heat generation, and high signal-to-noise ratio are increasingly favored by manufacturers.

CCD and CMOS Image Sensor Comparison

LED lights replacing xenon and halogen lights.Because different tissues absorb different colors and spectrums, two-color or three-color LED color temperatures can improve the doctor's ability to distinguish different tissues. Replacing traditional cold light sources with LED light sources eliminates the need for fiber optic light transmission, allowing LED light sources to be installed directly in front of the lens, reducing equipment losses due to fiber breakage. Currently, most mainstream endoscopes use xenon lamps. The cost of using LEDs in endoscopes is relatively high, and large-scale adoption has not yet been achieved.

Extended technology applications—precise endoscopic diagnosis and endoscopic treatment, expanding new clinical needs for endoscopy. In terms of diagnosis: Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) Endoscopic ultrasound combines endoscopy and ultrasound for gastrointestinal examinations. A miniature high-frequency ultrasound probe is placed at the tip of the endoscope. When the endoscope is inserted into the body cavity, while directly observing the digestive mucosal lesions, real-time ultrasound scanning under endoscopic ultrasound can obtain the histological characteristics of the gastrointestinal structural layers and ultrasound images of surrounding adjacent organs. It assists in polyp resection, mucosal stripping, endoscopic tunneling techniques, etc., further improving the diagnostic and therapeutic levels of endoscopy and ultrasound. Interventional diagnosis and treatment under endoscopic ultrasound are one of the hotspots in endoscopic technology development at home and abroad. Currently, only three Japanese companies, Olympus, Fujifilm, and Pentax, have commercial products. The domestic company, KaiLi Medical, has also achieved technological breakthroughs and is expected to be launched in the next 1-2 years.

Confocal endoscope:Displays mucosal cytology information for easy early detection of lesions

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) endoscope:High resolution, non-contact

Molecular imaging endoscope:Uses nuclear medicine radioisotopes, MRI, and fluorescence imaging technologies to image at the functional cell level

Chromoscopic endoscopy: Divided into chemical staining and electronic staining

AI-assisted diagnosis:Enables the product to automatically identify and prompt lesions, especially for early cancer lesions, improving physician efficiency and reducing missed diagnoses

Endoscopic ultrasound illustration

In terms of treatment:

Ultrasonic knife, electric knife, radiofrequency ablation, cryotherapy, balloon dilatation catheter, stone retrieval basket, snare, and medical stents, etc.

Development of laparoscopic robots: more precise positioning, less surgical trauma, faster healing, and the ability to simulate surgical operations

Popularization of 3E technology (including ERCP-retrograde cholangiopancreatography, EMR-endoscopic mucosal resection, ESD-endoscopic submucosal dissection)

Miniaturization and microminiaturization development—capsule endoscopy. Capsule endoscopy, also known as "intelligent capsule digestive endoscopy system" or "medical wireless endoscope," involves ingesting a smart capsule containing built-in cameras and signal transmission devices. Gravity or magnetic force moves the capsule within the digestive tract to capture images. Olympus launched its capsule colonoscopy as early as 2008, but due to its use only in the intestines and more complex operation, it is not widely known.

Guangzhou Rencheng Medical Imaging Workstation

The advent of medical endoscopes has allowed patients to have a more intuitive understanding of their condition, and it has also provided doctors with intuitive research support when faced with numerous diseases. The research and design of professional endoscopes have greatly promoted the development and progress of medicine and significantly improved the health level of the population.
The development of medical equipment is becoming increasingly fast, convenient, and advanced. Advanced medical equipment facilitates the diagnosis of diseases, and the application of endoscopy cannot be separated from the endoscopy workstation. It facilitates hospitals, doctors, and patients, allowing for quick retrieval of examination results, facilitating film viewing, file viewing, saving, and archiving, improving the functions of case retrieval, statistics, and management. For patients, they can quickly access examination information, achieve image and video visualization, enhance communication with doctors, share examination results data, and facilitate the retrieval of files during referrals. Guangzhou Rencheng Medical has stood out with over ten years of experience in medical equipment repair. Through cooperation with hospitals, we clearly understand the needs of doctors. The developed imaging workstation serves hospitals, doctors, and patients well. Rencheng Imaging Workstation is now recruiting national agents and distributors and provides 24-hour After-sale Service. Please feel free to contact us.

This information belongs to Rencheng Medical. Please indicate the source when reprinting.