Third Eye Retroscope Randomized Clinical Evaluation

Overview

The Third Eye® Retroscope® is a device that can be inserted through the instrument channel of a standard colonoscope to provide an additional, retrograde (or backward) view that reveals areas behind folds and flexures in the colon, and might detect additional polyps that cannot be seen with the colonoscope alone. Patients who participate as subjects in the study will undergo two complete colonoscopy procedures, a standard colonoscopy and a colonoscopy in which a Third Eye Retroscope is used along with the same colonoscope. Half of the patients will have the standard colonoscopy first followed by the Third Eye colonoscopy, and the other half will have the Third Eye procedure first. Results from the two groups will be analyzed and compared to determine the effectiveness of the Third Eye Retroscope for detecting additional adenomas and other polyps compared with the standard colonoscope alone.

Colonoscopy is generally agreed to be the best method for detecting and removing pre-cancerous polyps, but some lesions can be missed, especially if they are located behind folds in the lining of the colon or behind flexures (sharp bends) in the colon. The Third Eye® Retroscope® is a device that can be inserted through the instrument channel of a standard colonoscope to provide an additional, retrograde (or backward) view that reveals areas behind folds and flexures in the colon. Previous studies have shown the device to be effective for detecting additional polyps that could not have been seen with the colonoscope alone. The purpose of this research is to compare the additional diagnostic yield obtained by using the Third Eye® Retroscope® vs. the diagnostic yield for the standard colonoscope alone in the context of a randomized, controlled study design. Patients who are scheduled for colonoscopy will be recruited to the study and randomized to one of two groups. Each patient will undergo two "back-to-back" procedures. Patients in Group A (study group) will undergo a standard colonoscopy followed immediately by a Third Eye colonoscopy. Patients in Group B (control group) will undergo a Third Eye colonoscopy followed immediately by a standard colonoscopy. Results from the two groups will be analyzed and compared to determine the effectiveness of the Third Eye Retroscope for detecting additional adenomas and other polyps compared with the standard colonoscope alone.