Cook Medical’s urology business announced that it will begin distributing the Cellvizio confocal laser endomicroscopy (CLE) system manufactured by Mauna Kea Technologies.

With the Cellvizio system, a physician can visualise the internal microstructure of tissues in real time during ureteroscopic and cystoscopic procedures.

“We are excited to bring Cellvizio to urologists in Europe,” said Jean-Marc Creissel, vice president of Cook’s Urology business. “Allowing physicians to view tissue in real time offers them an opportunity to quickly determine potential options for patients.”

CLE is an endoscopic technique that incorporates laser scanning technology to generate images of the internal microstructure of tissues. Cellvizio is a probe-based CLE system that uses Confocal Miniprobes™, which are made up of optical fiber bundles and other optical elements.

The probes transmit the laser energy to the tissue site and detect the fluorescent light that is reflected back. This reflected light is generated into real-time images of the internal microstructure of tissues.

The Cellvizio system is composed of various components that are placed on a portable cart. This setup allows the system to be transported between rooms in a hospital or clinic. The sterile probes used with the system can be reprocessed up to 20 times, depending on the model.

Since 1963 Cook Medical has worked closely with physicians to develop technologies that eliminate the need for open surgery. Today we are combining medical devices, biologic materials and cellular therapies to help the world's healthcare systems deliver better outcomes more efficiently.