July 18, 2022 – Medtronic and the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) today announced they are expanding the Medtronic Health Equity Assistance Program for colon cancer screening in medically underserved communities across the United States, with support from Amazon Web Services’s (AWS) Health Equity Initiative(opens new window). The GI Genius units provided as part of the program have increased from 50 to 133 systems being placed at 62 facilities.
Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Ga. was the first to receive its donated GI Genius units last month following the launch of the program in February 2022. Gastroenterologists at Grady Memorial Hospital perform more than 7,000 colon cancer screening procedures each year among a predominantly Black community. Accounting for 80% of the specialty’s patient population, Black adults are disproportionately burdened by colon cancer, at greater risk of diagnosis, worse outcome and death.
The GI Genius intelligent endoscopy module, authorized by the FDA in April 2021(opens new window), is the first-to-market, computer-aided polyp detection system powered by artificial intelligence (AI) to detect colorectal polyps of varying shapes and sizes automatically in real time which helps diagnose and prevent colorectal cancer. In the first U.S. trial using GI Genius, results published this spring(opens new window) showed a 50% reduction in missed colorectal polyps with AI technology versus standard colonoscopy.
The American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, who led the submission and selection process for this program, recently released their full list of recipients for donated GI Genius units.