Bloomington-based Cook Medical has established a division to capitalize on the growing market for minimally invasive procedures to fix problems in ears, noses and throats, as well as other maladies of the head and neck.

Cook announced the division, its 10th, on Monday during the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery conference in Washington, D.C.

In the United States, those markets will grow by 4 percent to 5 percent over the next five years, reaching $500 million in device sales by 2016, according to a projection issued in October by Toronto-based Millennium Research Group.

Every year, 300,000 Americans get endoscopic sinus surgery, spending more than $1 billion, according to research by Columbia University.

“As we met with physicians, we heard loud and clear that they saw many opportunities for minimally invasive medical devices in this field,” Thomas Cherry, global leader for Cook Medical’s Otarlaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery division, said in a prepared statement.

Cook’s new division will focus on: soft tissue repair, salivary gland disease, chronic sinusitis, vocal cord paralysis, obstructive sleep apnea, and interventional airway and esophageal procedures. It is introducing three product lines this week aimed at the salivary glands, esophagus and  thyroid.

Cook has made catheters and other devices for minimally invasive surgeries since its founding in 1963. Its other divisions include products for  interventional radiological tests, opening blood vessels, fixing urological problems and addressing women’s health issues.

"Cook Medical has a solid and lengthy track record in innovating minimally invasive technologies, and has the ability to help transform the way we may approach such things as reducing post-tonsillectomy pain or advancing our understanding of the treatment of sinusitis,” Dr. Patrick Melder of ENT Associates of North Georgia, said in a prepared statement released by Cook. Melder is a paid consultant for Cook.