1
Visualization tech-
nologies: nowhere
left to hide
For generations of repro-
cessing professionals, the
best we could do to ensure
lumens and cannulas were
adequately cleaned was to
trust the cleaning process.
We encouraged visual
inspection, but there were
limits. It was impossible to
see inside an Andrews suc-
tion or the handle on an
arthroscopic shaver. In a
few years, it will be routine
for reprocessing technicians
to inspect the internal chan-
nels of flexible endoscopes
with small-diameter
borescopes, ensuring there is no cleaning residue, moisture, brush
bristles or damage that could harbor microbes. With tabletop micro-
scopes, we'll be able to examine micro-instruments under the same
level of magnification as they use on the sterile field. With these visu-
alization technologies, microbes will have nowhere left to hide.
2
Designed for safety: single-use saviors
As micro-technology continues to make the world around us
smaller and smaller, the impact will also be felt in reprocessing
space. Many surgical instruments with historical cleaning challenges,
3 6 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • A P R I L 2 0 1 8
• CLOSER INSPECTION That scalpel looks clean and ready for use, but
is it? You can inspect reprocessed instruments for unseen residual debris
with tabletop microscopes.
Weston
"Hank"
Balch,
BS,
MDiv,
CRCST,
CIS,
CHL
