Improving Medical Equipment

A duodenoscope is threaded through the patient's mouth and used to visualize the stomach and duodenum (the upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract). It can also be used to drain fluids from pancreatic and biliary ducts that would otherwise require more invasive surgery. The major problem with this equipment is the difficulty in cleaning it to prevent the transmittal of superbugs (bacteria immune to current antibiotics).

This week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), took a step in the right direction by approving a new tool to add in the fight against superbugs - the ED34‑i10T Video Duodenoscope made by Pentax Medical. This instrument has a removable end cap that allows the channels (fiberoptic cables) to be cleaned more efficiently.

https://www.acsh.org/news/2017/09/25/new-device-stops-superbug-infections-their-tracks-11867