Given Imaging Ltd., an Israel-based diagnostics company, develops, produces and markets The Given® Imaging Diagnostic System, a non-invasive technology for the diagnosis of gastrointestinal (GI) tract disorders. The company has plans to further develop its technology to provide a platform for diagnostic solutions for other areas of the gastrointestinal tract including the esophagus, the stomach and the colon. Cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in August 2001, the Given System is currently approved for sale in the United States, European Union, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Israel. The System consists of:

• M2A Capsule, a patented, single-use video color-imaging capsule, which is ingested, glides naturally through the digestive tract and is naturally excreted.
• Given® Data Recorder worn on a belt around the waist that receives signals transmitted by the capsule through an array of sensors placed on the patient’s body. While wearing the belt, patients are free to continue their daily activities during the GI examination. During a typical seven-hour test, the M2A capsule transmits 50,000 images to the portable data recorder.
• RAPID Workstation, equipped with Given Imaging’s proprietary RAPID™ (Reporting and Processing of Images and Data) Application Software that processes the data and produces a video of the small intestine images. The RAPID™ Workstation will permit physicians to view, edit, archive and e-mail the video, and save individual images and short video clips.

Given has four issued patents and has submitted more than 40 patent applications worldwide for the technologies employed in the Given® Imaging Diagnostic System and for new capsules to be developed using the basic technological platform. Future generations of the Given® Diagnostic Imaging System are being developed to capture images of the rest of the upper GI tract and the large intestine.

Given was founded in 1998 by Dr. Gavriel D. Meron who serves as President and CEO of the company. Given maintains its corporate headquarters, research and development laboratories, and production plant in a newly constructed 25,000 square foot facility in the New Industrial Park in Yoqneam, Israel. North American headquarters are located in Atlanta, GA., European headquarters are located in Hamburg, and offices for Australia and New Zealand are located in Sydney.

http:/www.givenimaging.com/