Automated Endoscope Reprocessor Reduces Human Error Risk

A new tabletop endoscope reprocessor removes some of the manual disinfection steps involved, improving overall efficiency.

The Olympus Medical (Olympus; Tokyo, Japan) OER-Mini offers a compact design that can be installed on a tabletop or cart, and can be utilized in facilities where space is limited. The automatic reprocessing process, designed specifically for Olympus endoscopes, involves fewer steps than that required with manual cleaning, resulting in a quick reprocessing time of just 16 minutes. Other features include a vapor filtration system that decreases the operator's exposure to chemical fumes, and a printer for logging a record of scope reprocessing results.

The OER-Mini reflects a current trend in healthcare of transitioning more procedures and functions from the hospital to the ambulatory center or clinic, thereby providing increased cost-saving to the healthcare system, but still maintaining high infection control and patient safety standards. Automated endoscope reprocessing offers several advantages over standard manual protocols, reducing the likelihood that an essential g step will be skipped, as well as reducing personnel exposure to high-level disinfectants and chemical sterilants.

“In ENT, we see many facilities that are still manually reprocessing their flexible endoscopes. Given the diligent attention to detail needed for manual cleaning, as well as the increasing demands for efficiency at today's ENT clinics, our customers have been asking us for a viable infection control solution for flexible ENT endoscopes,” said Dana Currier, ENT unit vice president at Olympus America. “We're very pleased to provide that solution in a compact, package designed that addresses the aims of value-based care.”

More than 15 million colonoscopies and seven million esophagogastroduodenoscopies (EGDs) are performed annually in the United States alone. Both procedures employ reusable scopes. Inadequate reprocessing between patients can result in the retention of blood, tissue, and other biological debris, which can allow microbes to survive the disinfection or sterilization process. Inadequate reprocessing can also result in other adverse patient outcomes, such as tissue irritation from residual chemical disinfectants.