Grenoble hospital launches novel optical biopsy program

07 Apr 2015

With acquisition of two Cellvizio endomicroscopy systems for gastroenterology, pulmonology and urology.

Stronger focus on the treatment of biliary and pancreatic pathologies.

Mauna Kea Technologies (MKT), inventor of the Cellvizio multidisciplinary confocal laser endomicroscopy platform, has announced the launch of an optical biopsy program at the CHU de Grenoble (university hospital center).

CHU is now the first hospital in France to offer its gastroenterology, interventional pulmonology and urology patients an innovative platform for clinical research and says it will now be providing "a higher standard of care" thanks to this endomicroscopy technology.

"We are delighted to be setting up an endomicroscopy program for urology in our department," said Professor Jean-Luc Descotes, Head of the Urology & Renal Transplantation department and Chairman of the French Urology Association. "The use of endomicroscopy across multiple areas of urology holds great promise for improving the treatment of conditions affecting a large number of patients."

Several clinical and cost/benefit programs are being launched following the installation of two Cellvizio systems at CHU, with practitioners from several specialties. In gastroenterology, physicians will have a strong focus on the treatment of biliary and pancreatic pathologies.

Improved optical biopsy

In the field of interventional pulmonology, the hospital will be the first in France to explore the use of optical biopsy to reduce the risks associated with physician biopsies in lung transplant patients, following the ground-breaking work performed at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, USA.

"Our long tradition of innovative patient care is paying off once again with the set-up of a full optical biopsy program in partnership with a French company," said Jacqueline Hubert, CEO of CHU. Practitioners will be able to harness crucial additional information when making their therapeutic decisions, which will definitely help to reduce the number of unnecessary procedures, while providing better options to numerous patients with digestive, pulmonary and urological conditions."

Mauna Kea Technologies is a medical device company focused on developing innovations in endomicroscopy and optical biopsy. The company designs, develops and markets tools to visualize and detect cell abnormalities in real time during standard gastrointestinal and pulmonary endoscopy procedures.

The company's flagship product, Cellvizio, a probe-based Confocal Laser Endomicroscopy system, provides physicians and researchers with high-resolution cellular imaging of internal tissues. Large-scale, international, multi-center clinical trials have demonstrated Cellvizio's ability to help physicians to more accurately detect early forms of diseases and make immediate treatment decisions.

About the Author

Matthew Peach is a contributing editor to optics.org.