SUNNYVALE, Calif., April 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Avantis Medical Systems, Inc., a technology leader in developing novel chip-on-catheter digital imaging devices, today announced that Matthew Jenusaitis of ConcepTx Medical, Inc. has joined the company's board of directors.
"We are pleased to invite someone of Mr. Jenusaitis' experience and prestige to join our board of directors. We look forward to working with him and expect that, as we continue to expand markets for the Third Eye(R) Retroscope(R), we will benefit from his depth of knowledge and experience with commercializing medical devices," said Scott Dodson, President & CEO of Avantis Medical.
Mr. Jenusaitis has more than 20 years experience working for medical device companies. He is currently with ConcepTx Medical, a business accelerator that identifies compelling medical device opportunities to treat large, growing and under-treated patient populations. Prior to ConcepTx, he led the diversification of eV3's Neurovascular Division into new therapies for ischemic stroke. During his 15 years at Boston Scientific, he advanced to president of the Peripheral Interventions Division (formerly Medi-Tech) where he led the acquisition and integration of two businesses. He also spent eight years at Baxter Healthcare first in engineering, then marketing management. An engineer by training, he holds bachelors and masters degrees in chemical and bio-chemical engineering from Cornell University and the University of Arizona, respectively, and a master of business administration from the University of California, Irvine. He currently serves on the advisory board of Cornell's Department of Biomedical Engineering.
"It is always rewarding to help develop technology that will have a tangible impact on patients' lives," said Mr. Jenusaitis. "We know that, if detected early through screening colonoscopy, colon cancer is preventable and treatable. The Third Eye Retroscope is an exciting product because it addresses technological limitations that lead to the well-documented 12-24 percent of polyps that can be missed during standard colonoscopy." (1 2 3)
"Matthew Jenusaitis will be an excellent addition to our board of directors because of his proven expertise in growing medical device companies and commercializing new products," said Fred Seddiqui, founder and chairman of the board of Avantis Medical. "We look forward to his insight as Avantis Medical continues commercial roll-out of the Third Eye Retroscope, backed by our February FDA clearance."
About the Third Eye(R) Retroscope(R) and Avantis Medical Systems, Inc.
Avantis Medical Systems, Inc. markets the Third Eye Retroscope, an FDA-cleared, disposable, catheter-based camera indicated for use with a standard colonoscope to provide an additional view of the colon for diagnostic and detection purposes. Deployed through the instrument channel of a standard colonoscope, the Third Eye provides the physician with a backward view to complement the colonoscope's forward view of the lining of the colon. The device is commercially available to physicians who perform colonoscopies.
The Third Eye is the only technology cleared by the FDA to enhance polyp detection when used in conjunction with colonoscopy. The Third Eye has been shown in clinical studies to help physicians find 13.0% more polyps than a colonoscope alone.(4) Another recent study involving more than 10,000 cancer patients showed that standard colonoscopy missed many more polyps and cancers in the right-side of the colon than in the left side.(5) The Third Eye has been shown to be equally effective in detecting polyps on both the right-side and the left-side of the colon, when compared to the colonoscope alone.(6)
Avantis Medical is focused on delivering cost effective solutions for improved detection and prevention of cancers of the gastrointestinal tract. The company has an extensive portfolio of patents covering innovative devices based on the convergent technologies of micro-chips, enhanced video processing and catheter based delivery systems. For more information, visit www.AvantisMedical.com or www.ThirdEyeRetroscope.com.
(1) Pickhardt, P.J.; Nugent, P.A.; Mysliwiec, P.A.; et al. Location of adenomas missed by optical colonoscopy. Annals of Internal Medicine 141(5):352-360, 2004.
(2) Pabby, A.; Schoen, R.E.; Weissfeld, J.L.; et al. Analysis of colorectal cancer occurrence during surveillance colonoscopy in the dietary Polyp Prevention Trial. Gastrointestinal Endoscopy 61(3):385-391,
(3) Rex, D.K.; Cutler, C.S.; Lemmel, G.T.; et al. Colonoscopic miss rates of adenomas determined by back-to-back colonoscopies. Gastroenterology 112(1):24-28, 1997.
(4) Waye, J.D.; Rex, D.K.; et al. The Third Eye Retroscope Auxiliary Endoscopy System Improves Detection of Polyps in the Colon - A Prospective Efficacy Evaluation. Endoscopy Supplement No. I(40): A24, OP1111, 2008.
(5) Baxter, N.N.; Goldwasser, M.A.; Paszat, L.F.; Saskin, R.; Urbach, D.R.; Rabeneck, L. To evaluate the association between colonoscopy and CRC deaths. Annals of Internal Medicine 150:1-8, 2009.
(6) Study on file with Avantis Medical Systems, Inc.
CONTACT: Jennifer Havlek of Avantis Medical Systems, +1-408-636-7200,
jhavlek@avantismedical.com, or Angelyn Lowe of Chase Communications,
+1-858-273-1805, alowe@chasepr.com
Web site: http://www.AvantisMedical.com/
http://www.ThirdEyeRetroscope.com/
