Olympus Receives Edison Silver Award for its DIEGO® ELITE Multidebrider®

Company Recognized for Innovative Technology in ENT Surgery
 
CENTER VALLEY, Pa., (September 22, 2015) – Olympus, a global technology leader in designing and delivering innovative solutions for medical and surgical procedures, among other core businesses, announced today that the company has received an Edison Silver Award for its DIEGO® ELITE Multidebrider®; in the category of ENT and dental surgical tools. The Edison Award evaluates on the criteria of concept and development; value and differentiation; delivery to market; as well as sustainability measures and societal impact. With this device, Olympus beat out hundreds of other Edison Award nominees and dozens in its category.
 
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 business executives and academics, including hundreds of past Edison Award winners representing a wide variety of industries and disciplines.
 
The device is the world’s only ENT (Ear, Nose, Throat) system to offer both monopolar and bipolar energy blades for hemostasis – a process to cease bleeding or hemorrhaging from a damaged vessel. ENT procedures powered by DIEGO® ELITE offer significantly shorter surgery times compared to those performed using standard blades. The average procedure time has been shown in a clinical study to drop from 101.4 minutes to 88.9 minutes  compared to other standard debriders. Compared to its predecessor, the DIEGO® ELITE offers improved coagulation performance and further expedites procedures, delivering 27 percent faster tissue removal. 
 
“It’s exciting to see companies like Olympus continuing Thomas Edison’s legacy of invention,” said Frank Bonafilia, Edison Awards’ executive director. “Edison Awards recognizes innovative products and services, and the innovators that have helped make compelling vision become reality.”
 
“Chronic sinusitis is one of the most common health complaints in the country, which more than 35 million people suffer from. Our team answered the industry call to make sinus surgery more efficient and we thank Edison for acknowledging this effort with the Silver Award," said Randy Clark, Group Vice President of Sales & Marketing for the Medical Systems Group at Olympus Corporation of the Americas. “Olympus recognizes that innovation is key to helping healthcare facilities meet the requirements of healthcare reform aimed at improving quality of care, decreasing costs and enhancing patient satisfaction.”
 
Similar to past Olympus products that have been recognized with Edison Awards, the DIEGO® ELITE Multidebrider® represents a world’s-only innovation for the surgical market.
 
The DIEGO® ELITE Multidebrider® will be showcased at the American Academy of Otolaryngology Annual Meeting, Sept. 27-30 in Dallas, Texas. Healthcare providers are invited to visit the Olympus Booth #1211 for a product demonstration. For more information about the DIEGO® ELITE Multidebrider®, please contact Olympus customer service at 1-800-848-9024 or visit the website
 
About the Edison Awards
Edison Awards nominees are judged by more than 3,000 senior business executives and academics from across the nation whose votes acknowledge the finalists’ success in meeting the award’s stringent criteria of quality. The Edison Awards is a program conducted by Edison Universe, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization dedicated to fostering future innovators. The 2014 Edison Awards are sponsored by Ipsos.
 
For more information about the Edison Awards, Edison Universe and a list of past winners, visit www.edisonawards.com.
 
 
About Olympus Medical Systems Group
Olympus Medical Systems Group, a division of global technology leader Olympus, develops solutions for healthcare professionals that help improve clinical outcomes, reduce overall costs and enhance quality of life for their patients. By enabling less invasive procedures, innovative diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy, and early stage lung cancer evaluation and treatments, Olympus is transforming the future of healthcare.
 
For more information visit Olympus at medical.olympusamerica.com.
 

i Based on average procedure times recorded during the following study. Sindwani, R, Kumar, N. Bipolar microdebrider may reduce intraoperative blood loss and operating time during nasal polyp surgery. Ear Nose Throat Journal. 2012 Aug; 91(8):336-44.

ii Than Olympus’ previous model. Data on file.