Olympus receives Edison Awards for three healthcare products

Olympus, a precision technology leader in designing and delivering innovative solutions in Medical and Surgical Products, among other core businesses, announced today that the company has received Edison Awards for three of its "world's only" products: ENDOEYE FLEX 3D, THUNDERBEAT and the BF-190 Bronchoscope. All three products were recognized at the awards ceremony in the category of science/medicine.

The distinguished Edison Awards are named after Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) whose extraordinary new product development methods and innovative achievements garnered him 1,093 U.S. patents and made

 him a household name around the world. The ballot of nominees for the Edison Awards was judged by a panel of more than 3,000 individuals, including members of seven different associations representing a wide variety of industries and disciplines.

"It's exciting to see companies like Olympus continuing Thomas Edison's legacy of challenging conventional thinking," said Frank Bonafilia, Edison Awards' executive director. "Edison Awards recognizes game-changing products and services, and the teams that brought them to consumers."

All three Olympus products recognized with Edison Awards represent world's only innovations for the surgical and medical markets:

"We are honored to be recognized by the Edison Innovation Awards as a company that is developing unique and innovative technology that will help physicians and surgeons improve the overall care of their patients," said Luke Calcraft, President of the Medical Systems Group at Olympus Corporation of the Americas. "Olympus is fully committed to helping healthcare facilities meet the requirements of healthcare reform aimed at improving quality of care, decreasing costs and enhancing patient satisfaction."

Award winners were announced April 30, 2014, at the Edison Awards Annual Gala, held in the historic Julia Morgan Ballroom in San Francisco, Calif.

• ENDOEYE FLEX 3D – recipient of a Silver award in the Surgical Aids category – is the world's only articulating HD 3D laparoscopic surgical imaging system, which improves the speed, accuracy and precision of surgical procedures when compared to 2D surgical systems. This is accomplished by restoring a surgeon's natural 3D vision and depth perception during laparoscopic procedures. The technology is available as a module that can be easily added to an existing Olympus EVIS EXERA III universal imaging system. 
   
• THUNDERBEAT – recipient of a Bronze award in the Assistive Devices category – is the world's only platform that combines advanced bipolar and ultrasonic energies into a single multifunctional instrument. This allows surgeons to simultaneously cut and seal vessels, minimizing instrument exchanges and reducing procedure time. Additionally, it boasts the fastest cutting speed and provides the highest grasping force at the tip when compared to other leading energy instruments.
   
• BF-190 Bronchoscope – recipient of a Bronze award in the Surgical Aids category – is the world's only fully rotatable HD bronchoscope, offering unparalleled maneuverability and flexibility through the combination of their unique Rotary Function and wider tip angulation. This advanced maneuverability potentially allows physicians to access areas of the lung that may not be easily reached with current generation bronchoscopes.