Spotting brain tumors
Adronic’s medical endoscopes were initially used in research and education. For example, faculty members from National Cheng Kung University’s College of Medicine asked Adronic to develop hysteroscopes, biliary endoscopes, and laryngoscopes for academic applications in hopes of making progress towards resolving problems in clinical settings.
But it wasn’t until doctors at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital used an Adronic endoscope to image and excise a brain tumor in a two-month-old baby that Tseng fully appreciated the device’s power. When the tumor was subsequently examined and reconfirmed to be malignant, the surgical team was even more relieved to have removed it.
Tseng recorded the entire event, and explains that doctors can’t tell with their naked eyes which tissue is cancerous. For this microendoscopic surgery, they injected the baby with a photosensitizing imaging agent called 5-ALA that makes cancers appear pink, then used the Adronic system’s photodynamic detector to spot the tumor and remove it.
Endoscopes can identify tumors’ locations, but surgeons still need other tools to remove them. Observing this difficulty, Adronic realized it could take its own corporate transformation farther by developing tools to assist in the removal of brain tumors.
In 2019, Tseng began working on magnetic endoscopes, which are better able to identify the precise location they are imaging, and expects to complete development in 2022. The company has already developed disposable endoscopes, which eliminate the risk of spreading infections from one patient to another.
“When I first went into medical endoscopes, I did it with the ordinary, simple-minded idea of helping people. But fate turned my efforts into something more, and I ended up designing endoscopes capable of spotting brain tumors.” With the government now steering medical equipment makers towards the development of micro and AI-assisted devices, medical endoscopes may well become another leading light in Taiwan’s medical devices industry.
Tseng says that his eight years researching and developing medical endoscopes that have helped hospitals complete innumerable successful surgeries have provided him with a much better understanding of healthcare. “If my mother’s cancer were discovered now, I could use endoscopy to find the tumor. With that information to guide surgery and proton therapy, she would have had a different outcome.”
Adronic displays its many quality certifications from Taiwan, North America and Europe on a wall inside its facility.
Adronic is continually improving its tools for assisting in removing brain tumors. The products are now in their seventh generation.
Adronic’s endoscopic photodynamic detector works with a photosensitizing imaging agent that makes cancerous cells appear pink, helping doctors identify tumors and remove them completely. (courtesy of Adronic Inspection Instruments)
Adronic’s endoscopic photodynamic detector works with a photosensitizing imaging agent that makes cancerous cells appear pink, helping doctors identify tumors and remove them completely. (courtesy of Adronic Inspection Instruments)
Adronic’s endoscopic photodynamic detector works with a photosensitizing imaging agent that makes cancerous cells appear pink, helping doctors identify tumors and remove them completely. (courtesy of Adronic Inspection Instruments)
Adronic is working in partnership with medical centers to develop new techniques and products tailored to clinical needs.