by Colby Coates

Note: This report originally appeared in the May 2008 edition of DOTmed Business News. A list of registered users that provide sales & service can be found at the end.

The business of supplying new and used equipment for use in a wide variety of endoscopic procedures is steady, and shows no signs of abating.
An aging baby boomer population, and its preoccupation with taking early preventative steps to avoid long-term medical problems, leads most observers to predict that this positive growth trend will continue in a multi-million dollar market. Generally, new scopes range in price from $20,000-$50,000, depending on the type. Endoscopy is used for diagnosis and therapy in the respiratory, gastrointestinal and urinary tracts, for plastic surgery, in a wide variety of applications for the male and female reproductive systems, and arthroscopic
equipment is a sub-set of endoscopy.

Moreover, new technological developments such as highdefinition image clarity and narrow-band imaging are expected to drive the market in a positive vein for years to come.

According to Edward Soto of The Scope Exchange, Greensboro, NC, "The move to high definition is one [development], as well as the ability of the practitioner to use image capture software to attach images to his records."

That's a point endorsed by Comel Cacuci of Apex Endoscopy, Lawrenceville, GA, who points specifically to "significant= advances in rigid endoscopes that include smaller diameters that allow more light to pass through, providing
brighter, larger and crisper images."

And Stuart Jackson, president, Pro Scope Systems, Cincinnati, OH, notes that, "the manufacturers have developed higher resolution systems with instruments that have smaller outer diameters and larger working channels, facilitating more therapeutic procedures being performed on an outpatient basis." That, he says, "spares patients potential surgical procedures" and, at the same time, "lowers the overall cost of health care, benefiting both the government and private insurance providers."

Finally, ongoing developments in the sterilization of scopes have the potential to unleash the replacement of existing equipment with a new generation of scopes, further heightening long-term demand for both new and refurbished scopes.

Endoscopy a Diagnostic Workhorse

In brief, endoscopy means looking inside the body using either a rigid or flexible scope (depending on the internal organs being examined), sometimes according to an individual physician's preference.

Endoscopy Homepage