Fujifilm launches new advanced GI endoscopy products

Fujifilm Medical Systems has launched two new devices for use with compatible endoscopes when performing GI endoscopic submucosal dissection.

The first, called the ClutchCutter, is a three-in-one device with a rotatable forceps that helps clinicians make incisions, dissections and coagulation. It is designed for rigorous procedures and includes “jagged, serrated jaws for enhanced clutching ability and an insulated outer edge for maximum durability,” according to a press release.

Its working length is 1,800 mm, its maximum diameter of insertion portion is 2.7 mm, and it comes with either a 3.5 mm or 5 mm jaw length.

The second new product, the FlushKnife, is a diathermic slitter that enables marking, flushing, incision, dissection and coagulation. Its working lengths are 1,800 mm and 2,300 mm, and it features a ball tip option with “excellent traction, enabling dissection of the target tissue and effective coagulation,” according to the press release. Further, it features a unique tip flush function for cleaning debris from the knife tip with saline or water via a syringe for fluid pump, and it comes with a variety of knife tip options and lengths.

Both devices are compatible with endoscopes with a working length of 1,400 mm or less and a 2.8 mm or larger forceps channel. Also, certain FlushKnife models are compatible with endoscopes with working lengths of 1,700 mm or less.

“Gastrointestinal diseases — including cancers — affect some 60 to 70 million Americans annually,” Keiichi Nagata, division president of Fujifilm Medical Systems USA, said in the press release. “Fujifilm’s latest devices for ESD procedures are practical tools that allow gastroenterologists and surgeons to treat lesions with the goal of improving patient outcomes.”

The press release cites the ASGE’s description of ESD as “a well-established technique of endoscopic resection that allows for en bloc removal of GI epithelial lesions [which] differs from endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR), the other type of endoscopic resection. Both techniques involve injection of a substance under the targeted lesion to act as a cushion. With EMR ... the lesion is then removed with a snare or suctioned into a cap and snared. With ESD, the submucosa is instead dissected under the lesion with a specialized knife. This enables removal of larger and potentially deeper lesions with than can be accomplished with EMR.”

Disclosures: Nagata is employed by Fujifilm.