World's First Gastrointestinal Videoscopes

Olympus Medical Systems Corp. is pleased to announce the launch of two new gastrointestinal video-scopes. Developed to support the early detection of minute lesions associated with cancer and other conditions, these new devices are the first in the world to support Auto Fluorescence Imaging (AFI).

The AFI produces enhanced images showing differences in the coloration of tumorous and normal mucosa by irradiating blue light on mucosa.

The EVIS LUCERA GASTROINTESTINAL VIDEOSCOPE GIF Type FQ260Z (referred to below as "GIF-FQ260Z") is for use in the upper gastrointestinal tract and the EVIS LUCERA COLONOVIDEOSCOPE CF Type FH260AZL/I (referred to below as "CF-FH260AZL/I") for use in the colon. They will be released in Japan in February 1, 2007 and will be progressively introduced in Europe and in Asian markets, including China, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore.

Both scopes are equipped with highly-sensitive CCDs that were specially designed for fluorescence observation, as well as normal light CCDs. In addition to Auto Fluorescence Imaging (AFI), the scopes also support HDTV imaging in normal light and optical magnification function. Furthermore, they can be switched to Narrow Band Imaging (NBI) simply at the touch of a button - Olympus.