Ultra-Compact Image Sensor Enables Ambu's Single-Use Intubation Scope

Designed into Ambu's aScope 2, a single-use intubation scope, intended for medical procedures such as difficult intubation and percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy (PDT), is  OmniVision Technologies Inc.'s OV6922 CMOS image sensor, this according to company executives. Ambu's disposable aScope 2 flexible videoscope can reduce the risk of cross-contamination when used to secure the airways of fully anesthetized patients. The aScope 2 is powered by OmniVision's ultra-compact 2.1mm x 2.3mm OV6922 CameraChip image sensor, which delivers crisp, clear imaging for minimally invasive and sterile medical procedures.

"The most critical benefit of the aScope 2 is its ability to reduce the risk for patients, while increasing overall efficiency for medical personnel," says Matthew Whitcombe, senior marketing manager – Europe at OmniVision. "The OV6922 brings an extremely high level of performance in an affordable, ultra-compact package, helping physicians to perform these medical procedures quickly and with greater accuracy."

"OmniVision's support and expertise in medical imaging has been critical to the successful and timely development of the aScope 2," states Jens Frimann, vice president of commercial innovation at Ambu. "Thanks to the cooperation of health care professionals around the world and the OV6922's excellent low-light, low-power performance, we were able to develop a single-use medical device that can improve patient comfort and reduce the cost of medical procedures."

Built on OmniVision's proprietary OmniPixel technology, the OV6922 combines a 1/18-inch optical format with extremely low power consumption to provide the high-quality images required for medical applications like the Ambu aScope 2. The sensor's impressive 1,000 mV/lux-sec sensitivity allows the camera to deliver clear NTSC video at 60 fields per second in challenging conditions often encountered in the human respiratory system.