Olympus Partners with Endocision to Expand Respiratory Cryotechnology

The rollout for this single-use flexible system is scheduled to begin in the United States, Canada, and Europe early next year. This addition complements the existing Olympus respiratory portfolio, which currently relies heavily on endobronchial ultrasound for lung tissue and lymph node visualization. Seiji Kuramoto, head of the Surgical and Interventional Solutions Division at Olympus, noted that the collaboration merges their ultrasound expertise with Endocision’s cryotechnology to improve diagnostic precision.

Clinicians increasingly favor cryobiopsy over traditional forceps because it yields larger tissue samples with significantly less crush artifact, allowing for more reliable molecular analysis. Beyond diagnostics, the system is engineered for therapeutic interventions, including the removal of foreign bodies, blood clots, and tumor debulking. Endocision President Dr. Moishe Liberman stated that the design focuses on versatility across various bronchoscopy platforms. The companies plan to demonstrate the technology at the American Association for Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology conference in Denver this August.