PENTAX Medical Europe to Launch New Solution for the Automated Pre-Cleaning of Endoscopes – AquaTYPHOON™ Obtains CE Mark
HAMBURG, 7 March 2023 – PENTAX Medical, a division of HOYA Group, received a CE mark for its new automated pre-cleaning solution, the AquaTYPHOON™. The device was developed in association with PlasmaBiotics and offers an alternative to the manual pre-cleaning step in endoscope reprocessing, addressing hygiene challenges faced by health care providers in daily clinical practice.
Enhancing hygiene with automated pre-cleaning
PENTAX Medical is committed to improving hygiene and patient safety by further enhancing reprocessing of reusable endoscopes, through developing new ways of pre-cleaning to reduce the risk of infection. As an alternative to manual pre-cleaning, the AquaTYPHOON™ does just that. It automatically cleans all endoscope channels, including the non-brushable ones, removing organic residues very effectively, supporting the automated endoscope reprocessing (AER) process following pre-cleaning.
Supporting reprocessing staff for increased efficiency
Endoscope reprocessing with the AquaTYPHOON™ requires less labour and time, which reduces the daily workload for staff and increases productivity. Depending on the endoscope type being used, the device reduces channel pre-cleaning time to just 2‑7 minutes.
As an automated pre-cleaning device, it has built‑in validation and safety features that help preventing human errors. The automated routine, unlike manual pre-cleaning, is always fully in line with the protocol and the full pre-cleaning procedure is documented. The system also offers full traceability and can be connected to hospital networks.
Balancing patient safety, productivity and sustainability
While patient safety remains its primary goal, PENTAX Medical also strives for greater sustainability and takes hospital budgets into account. The AquaTYPHOON™ allows for significantly lower costs and lower environmental impact. As its pre-cleaning process combines only water and air, without the need for consumables or chemistry, it eliminates waste generation (brushes, syringes and detergent) and reduces water consumption.
Harald Huber, Global VP for Product and Category Management at PENTAX Medical: “At PENTAX Medical we believe in green endoscopy at maximum patient safety. The introduction of AquaTYPHOON™ is our contribution to reducing waste and water consumption during endoscope pre-cleaning while providing highest safety through an automated process.”
The obtained CE mark for a medical device class I endorses the quality and safety of the AquaTYPHOON™ to improve infection prevention in daily clinical practice. The commercial launch of the AquaTYPHOON™ is expected in the first half of 2023.
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About PENTAX Medical
PENTAX Medical is a division of HOYA Group. The company’s mission is to improve the standard of patient care and quality of healthcare delivery by providing the best endoscopic products and services with a focus on QUALITY, CLINICALLY RELEVANT INNOVATION, and SIMPLICITY.
PENTAX Medical strives to align with the healthcare community’s Triple Aim goals through transparent partnerships with its customers and by providing the highest quality solutions to help them reach their goals, including enabling customers to improve patient outcomes by offering evidence-based solutions across the continuum of care; ensuring value by supporting the customers to improve their efficiency and minimise their healthcare costs; and enriching patient and provider’s experience by empowering every member of the care team to achieve optimal outcomes through products, education, and support.
Focused on the outcome instead of technological features, PENTAX Medical listens to the healthcare community and their patients, understands their daily obstacles and helps improve endoscopy with smart innovations.
About PlasmaBiotics
PlasmaBiotics, founded in 2011, is an innovative company specialized in the cleaning, drying and storage of endoscopes. PlasmaBiotics products deliver superior and efficient performance by significantly reducing endoscope reprocessing cycle times and minimizing the risk of bacterial contamination through highly effective cleaning and drying mechanisms for the endoscopic channels and active storage of the endoscopes using plasma technology. In 2018, PENTAX Medical, a division of the HOYA Group, acquired a controlling interest in PlasmaBiotics SAS.
About HOYA
Founded in 1941 in Tokyo, Japan, HOYA Corporation is a global technology and med‑tech company and a leading supplier of innovative high‑tech and medical products. HOYA is active in the fields of healthcare and information technology, providing eyeglasses, medical endoscopes, intraocular lenses, optical lenses, as well as key components for semiconductor devices, LCD panels, and hard disk drives. With over 150 offices and subsidiaries worldwide, HOYA currently employs a multinational workforce of 37,000 people. For more information, please visit: http://www.hoya.com.
