The CDC tells us that Colorectal cancer is the 4th deadliest cancer in the United states where it accounts for 13,000 out of 100,000 deaths due to cancer. Because of Colorectal cancer’s lethality and high incidence rate (4%), doctors strongly recommend that every adult 50 and over, and younger patients with risk factors, should get a colonoscopy every 5 years, as it has been proven as an effective way to detect the cancer in early stages. Polyps found during colonoscopies come in many different sizes, shapes, and locations and due to this variance may require multiple snares to be used in a single procedure, as one snare cannot remove all polyps. In addition, polyps that are around bends, within intestinal folds, or more flat than usual can be very difficult if not impossible to resect using current snare technologies. These unremoved polyps lead to further laparoscopic or open surgeries, which leads to increased costs, discomfort, and risk for the patient. This second surgery not only costs you as the patient, but also costs the hospital as well, where every minute in the OR costs an average of $62 in the US so time is money for hospitals. There is a need for a snare that will increase the overall success rate of polypectomy procedures, reduce the occurrence of secondary invasive procedures, and reduce the amount of devices use per procedure. This is why we are creating the tiger snare. The combination of rotation, deflection, retraction, and cauterization is unique to the Tiger Snare. No competitors have similar technology deployed. Our single use, “jack-of-all-trades” device will enable the removal of a higher percentage of colorectal polyps than commercially available snares, reducing the potential risk of colorectal cancer and the need for secondary surgeries.
The Tiger Snare is a polypectomy snare with the goal of removing a higher percentage of potentially cancerous tissues from the lining of the colon when compared to competitors. The Tiger Snare consists of a flexible wire cable and loop which can be extended and retracted from the snare’s flexible sheath using the handle. When passed through an endoscope the snare can be rotated, flexed, and activated to deliver a monopolar electrical current to cut and cauterize tissue with the loop. The Tiger Snare is used endoscopically in the removal and/or cauterization of diminutive polyps, sessile polyps, pedunculated polyps, and tissue within the gastrointestinal tract.
