Olympus announced today that its Odin Medical unit received FDA 510(k) clearance for its Caddie computer-aided detection (CADe) device.

The cloud-based AI technology assists gastroenterologists in detecting suspected colorectal polyps during colonoscopy procedures. Olympus says its the first cloud-based AI technology for this purpose. It could potentially go up against the Medtronic AI-enabled GI Genius platform as well.

“Together with Olympus, we are proud to bring this groundbreaking technology to the U.S,” Odin Vision CEO Peter Mountney said. “The cloud gives us the ability to keep hospitals up-to-date with advances in AI and gives peace of mind to doctors that they can easily access current technology for their patients.”

Caddie works by analyzing colonoscopy video in real-time and using visual markers to alert endoscopists to the potential presence of polyps. The endoscopist then reviews the suspected polyp areas from Caddie and confirms the presence or absence based on their own judgment.

Olympus outlined one of its main goals as improving the effectiveness of colonoscopy, considered the gold standard of colorectal screening. The company hopes to reduce the societal burden of lives lost to colorectal cancer. It said its Olympus Intelligent Endoscopy Ecosystem, leveraging Caddie, can strengthen clinical decision-making on that front.

“As a global leader in endoscopy, it is our vision to make AI a key component of our digital transformation. Odin’s success with this FDA clearance is an important step forward. A digitally transformed endoscopy ecosystem has the potential to support doctors and hospitals as they navigate global industry mega trends like cost pressures and staff shortages, in the context of an aging population,” said said Miquel Àngel García, global head of Endoscopy Solutions Ecosystem at Olympus Corporation. “We are very excited about the huge opportunities for patients and healthcare systems that these advancements make possible.”