European Commission Funds Development of Patient-Friendly Endoscopy System

A group of nine European companies and universities have been awarded a multimillion-euro research contract to develop a patient-friendly, highly sensitive screening system for the detection of early cancer and pre-cancerous conditions in the gastrointestinal tract. The Nano-based capsule-Endoscopy with Molecular Imaging and Optical biopsy (NEMO) project will be funded under the auspices of the European Commission of the Sixth EU Framework Program of Research and Technological Development (FP6 commission).

The NEMO project is based on the Given Imaging (Yoqneam, Israel) PillCam video capsule. This device comprises a disposable, miniature video camera contained in a capsule, which is ingested by the patient, a sensor array, data recorder, and dedicated software.

Several of the research partners are engineering firms whose task will be to upgrade and enhance the electronic and mechanical systems built into the capsule. Another aspect of the project is the insertion or attachment of an immunodiagnostic test to the capsule that will allow real-time diagnosis of lesions spotted by capsule video. Novamed Ltd. (Jerusalem, Israel) is leading this section of the project in cooperation with hospitals and clinical laboratories in Germany and Italy.

We are proud to advance our research in the bio-sensing field with such leading research and industrial organizations,” said Dr. Elisha Rabinovitz, chief scientist of Given Imaging. "This project further exemplifies Given's commitment to develop new and innovative solutions to help physicians treat their patients and could represent a revolutionary platform of biopsy-free procedures.”




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Given Imaging
Novamed Ltd.