BEDFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NinePoint Medical, Inc, a transformative medical device company pioneering the use of Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) for gastrointestinal applications, today announced a long-term strategic partnership with Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI). This partnership includes a strategic investment and a worldwide distribution agreement with Merit Medical’s endoscopic division, Merit Medical Endotek® (Endotek), for NinePoint Medical’s NvisionVLE® Imaging System with Real-time Targeting™.

This partnership combines the world-class Gastrointestinal (GI) and Pulmonary medical devices from Endotek with the ground-breaking Advanced OCT platform from NinePoint Medical. This OCT platform has, in a short period of time, become a primary imaging device used by many of the leading hospitals in the U.S. to aid in the early detection of esophageal cancer.

“NinePoint Medical is committed to providing GI physicians an elegant and cost-effective OCT imaging solution to enable early and accurate diagnosis,” commented Christopher R. von Jako, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of NinePoint Medical. “Merit Medical Endotek is the ideal partner as they have the reputation, clinical experience, and complementary product portfolio to grow this business.”

“We are very excited to form this partnership in order to provide NinePoint Medical’s highly innovative OCT imaging system to our customers and other clinicians around the world,” said Merit Medical System’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Fred P. Lampropoulos. “Endotek is a market leader in GI solutions, and we share NinePoint Medical’s vision of improving early cancer detection and thereby improving patient outcomes while reducing healthcare costs.”

About the NvisionVLE® Imaging System

The NvisionVLE Imaging System provides a unique and clinically valuable new perspective on esophageal disease - the ability to image within the wall of the esophagus. By providing a high-resolution, real-time scan of the esophagus using Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) – a technology similar to ultrasound but using infrared light rather than sound waves - the system enables physicians to view structures not evident with conventional imaging, and potentially identify disease that would have otherwise been missed. With the recent addition of a Real-time TargetingTM feature, physicians can not only locate, but now mark areas of interest. This marking feature, in combination with an improved workflow, enables more accurate targeting, potentially leading to improved diagnosis and more effective therapeutic decisions for patients.

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