Olympus, a global technology leader in designing and delivering innovative solutions for medical and surgical procedures, among other core businesses, announced the introduction of its OER-Mini tabletop endoscope reprocessor for ENT, an advancement over manual reprocessing for busy ENT facilities. The OER-Mini reflects the trend in healthcare of transitioning more procedures and functions from the hospital to the ambulatory center or clinic, providing cost-savings to the healthcare system overall while maintaining the highest infection control and patient safety standards.
 
The OER-Mini is a tabletop endoscope reprocessor that helps to improve reprocessing efficiency by removing some manual steps of reprocessing endoscopes through high level disinfecting. The OER-Mini has a quick reprocessing time at just 16 minutes and is designed specifically for Olympus endoscopes. The OER-Mini helps reduce the risk of human error and mishandling during the reprocessing process.
 
Multiple societies have highlighted the benefits of automated endoscope reprocessors versus manual high-level disinfection, including AAMI, AORN and the CDC, which states, “Automated endoscope reprocessors (AER) offer several advantages over manual reprocessing: they automate and standardize several important reprocessing steps, reduce the likelihood that an essential reprocessing step will be skipped, and reduce personnel exposure to high-level disinfectants or chemical sterilants.”
 
Key features and benefits of the OER-Mini include:
 

• Decreased reprocessing time, improving efficiencies and freeing staff to focus on patient-centered care.
• Compact design that can be installed on a tabletop or cart and can be utilized in facilities where space is limited.
• Automatic reprocessing of scopes with fewer steps required than with manual cleaning.
• Designed specifically for Olympus flexible endoscopes, reducing chance of scope damage during reprocessing.
• Vapor filtration system decreasing operator’s exposure to chemical fumes.
• Printer for simple logging that provides record of scope reprocessing results.

 
“In ENT, we see many facilities that are still manually reprocessing their flexible endoscopes,” said Dana Currier, business unit vice president, ENT at Olympus America Inc. “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. We’re very pleased to provide that solution in a compact package designed that addresses the aims of value-based care.”