Medigus is entering bold new territory thanks in part to a manufacturing and development agreement with A.M. Surgical, an orthopedics company. Omer, Israel -based Medigus has primarily been known for its MUSE technology that performs the Transoral Fundoplication for the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

MUSE includes the ScoutCam miniature camera technology, which is at the center of this partnership.

“The [ScoutCam] technology can be optimized and used in other ways in addition to being inside MUSE,” Chris Rowland, CEO of Medigus, told MD+DI. “The orthopedic market is interesting because there is a chance to disrupt the existing modality of reusable scopes, whether they are laparoscopes or endoscopes. Think of our miniature camera as putting a set of eyes on the distal tip of a therapeutic tool.”

The agreement requires Medigus to develop and manufacture an integrated visualization device based on its micro ScoutCam technology to work with Stratos, the A.M. Surgical product for endoscopic procedures.

Under the agreement, Medigus will provide prototypes of the integrated visualization device, followed by production of the first two batches of the integrated visualization device. The total project budget is $780,000, which will be paid based on milestones.

The firms said the integrated visualization device may have the long-term potential of offering a higher level of surgical control and visualization during endoscopic carpal tunnel release for hundreds of thousands of procedures annually in the US.

“Instead of pushing in a reusable scope, what we’re doing is integrating this micro camera – this visualization platform -  inside the therapeutic tool,” Rowland said. “It allows the physician to treat diseases ... in this case ... carpal tunnel in a way that’s quicker, safer and more effective in terms of cross contamination and infection.”

Rowland said the company is still focused on GERD, but it is working on looking for additional uses of its camera.

“There are other opportunities in cardiovascular or even in neural intervention…where physicians want to see what’s going on under direct vision,” Rowland said.