BC Tech's new, miniature single use video camera can help reduce healthcare costs

BC Tech, a medical product development and manufacturing company, has launched a miniature single use video camera that can be integrated into medical devices to improve safety and help reduce healthcare costs.

"At just three millimeters in diameter, the Video Scout is one of the smallest medical cameras in the world," said Charlie Skinner, VP of Business Development for BC Tech. "Medical companies can integrate the Video Scout into biopsy tools, ablation wands, catheters, tissue cutters, scopes and more. We're confident this sort of low cost imaging technology will usher in a new wave of disposable medical products with built in video cameras."

Many routine procedures and surgeries require the doctor to see inside the human body with a special instrument called an endoscope. Endoscopes are expensive and often confined to specialized surgical suites. With healthcare legislation likely to reduce reimbursements for many procedures, medical device companies are scrambling to introduce low cost, single-use devices that deliver the same results as more expensive, durable equipment. "BC Tech can help medical equipment companies achieve that goal," said Mr. Skinner. "We want to help our clients create new products that move endoscopic procedures out of the surgical suite and into the doctor's office, where costs and risks are substantially reduced."

Ben Clawson, CEO of BC Tech, is particularly enthusiastic about the positive impact the Video Scout can have in the developing world. "Millions of people in poor countries die because healthcare workers lack the equipment to properly diagnose common diseases," said Mr. Clawson. "Procedures that are routine for Americans, like colonoscopies, are simply too expensive in many parts of the world. The Video Scout enables creation of low cost diagnostic tools that developing countries can actually afford."

The Video Scout is made possible in part through great support from OmniVision Technologies, a leading developer of digital imaging products. OmniVision is BC Tech's supplier of choice for miniature camera chips.

"We're committed to supporting BC Tech with our expertise in CMOS imaging technologies to continue the development of Video Scout products," said Zafer Zamboglu, Senior Marketing Manager for Medical Devices at OmniVision. "We believe that our combined expertise in medical camera development has the potential to enable medical equipment manufacturers to quickly integrate high quality digital imaging into a variety of new single use medical products."