DOD Contracts Fujifilm For Endoscopy Tools And Tech Training

Last fall, Fujifilm Medical Systems and Hitachi Healthcare Americas – a recent acquisition – were fused together to create a new entity: Fujifilm Healthcare Americas. Now, the Massachusetts-based device maker has made public its ambitious five-year roadmap, which features a lucrative federal government contract.

A deal has been struck between the firm and the U.S. Department of Defense to provision its range of endoscopes and associated imaging software, as well as training resources for said technology. In February, Fujifilm was selected out of more than 50 other applicants for this coveted team-up. The firm could collect up to $450 million for a to-be-determined amount of its medical technologies. During the five contracted years, it also aims to significantly reduce cancer diagnosis timelines.

The agreement will put the firm’s endoscopy equipment in every government-run medical facility. Not only will hospitals and military ambulatory surgery centers benefit, but also clinics under the jurisdiction of the National Institutes of Health, the Veteran Health Administration, and the Indian Health Service, among others. “Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States, the third most common diagnosed cancer among indigenous Americans, and the fourth most common diagnosed cancer among veterans,” said Fujifilm endoscopy segment Vice President Taisuke Fujita. “With our endoscopy portfolio, we hope to transform the speed and accuracy with which CRC is identified, addressed, and managed at all federally managed healthcare sites.”