Cover story - advertising feature
Driving innovation in endoscope decontamination
Wassenburg has pioneered in the field of endoscope decontamination, with the aim of improving patient safety. However, the company’s vision goes beyond just ensuring a clean scope – with the company’s CEOs setting out a commitment to sustainable and ethical values.
1984 was a key milestone for the world of decontamination – the world’s first AER was designed by Wassenburg’s founder, Gerrit Wassenburg. The landscape of endoscope decontamination has greatly changed since 1984, but the company’s drive for innovation remains the same, and it is constantly looking at innovation and improvements to endoscope reprocessing. Wassenburg recognised the need for a
washer-disinfector and began the arduous task of designing one. His patented concept – in which endoscope channels are individually connected, washed, disinfected, controlled and monitored during reprocessing – is still the foundation for our state-of-the-art endoscope washer-disinfectors today. It wasn’t until the early 2000s that the
Wassenburg products entered the UK. Until this time, the UK was heavily reliant on the
manual reprocessing of endoscopes. In addition, there were several key incidents across the UK, due to users not knowing how to reprocess endoscopes correctly. The WASSENBURG® WD440 top loader offered healthcare establishments the opportunity to reprocess endoscopes in an automated washer-disinfector. From its early conception, the Wassenburg
AERs provided a new approach in endoscope reprocessing. The patented concept allowed endoscopes to be reprocessed independently in two asynchronous chambers, with the patient insertion tube being fed into a helical coil and a vortex being created during the washing cycle. This process ensures that the endoscope is completely reprocessed through the washing and disinfection. Wassenburg has continued to lead in
innovation and, in the mid 2000s, developed the WASSENBURG® WD440 Pass-Through endoscope
www.clinicalservicesjournal.com Volume 22 I Issue 3 I March 2023
THE CLINICAL SERVICES JOURNAL
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washer-disinfector (WASSENBURG® WD440 PT). This concept allowed the dirty flexible endoscopes to be loaded on one side and be processed, and the clean disinfected flexible endoscopes to be unloaded on the other side of the unit. The need for a pass-through design was also fuelled by the increased numbers in cancer diagnosis and the number of people dying from cancer. The then Secretary of State, The Rt. Hon. Alan Johnson published the Cancer Reform Strategy. This built upon the progress of the Cancer Plan in 2000. The Cancer Reform Strategy made 10 key pledges to patients. In general, the earlier a cancer can be detected the greater the chance of a cure – late diagnosis is the major factor contributing to poor cancer survival. In terms of timelines and fast tracking to December 2022, the NHS published its 2023/2024 priorities and operational planning guidance
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www.clinicalservicesjournal.com I March 2023
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