Evaluation of the ScopeControl endoscope test system in six hospitals in The Netherlands

As rigid endoscopes are re-used after minimal invasive surgery, they degrade over time. To guarantee the optical quality of a rigid endoscope, the ScopeControl has been developed to measure key optical parameters such as, light transmission (LT), color correctness (CC), focus (FC), fiber transmission (FT), viewing angle (VA) and field of view (FV). To evaluate the performance of the ScopeControl, five ScopeControls SV (study version) have been tested in six hospitals in the Netherlands. Aspects such as robustness, precision, usability of the measured data, acceptation criteria and ergonomic aspects have been assessed. The ScopeControl maintains its stability over time and can measure LT, CC and FC with 5% precision, VA and FV with 2% accuracy and FT with 10% precision. The final thresholds above which an endoscope could still be considered to be in good condition, appeared to be: VA at 75%, CC, FC and FV at 70%, LT at 65% and FT at 35% of that of the best endoscope of that type ever found. The ScopeControl SV fits the workflow of the sterilization department as it is easy to use and can easily be cleaned. The time to perform a measurement is 2–3 min (one minute is spent to select the correct endoscope). The ScopeControl PV (launched in November 2013), has been used clinically from April to November 2014. It proves to be more stable, well accepted by personnel from the sterilization department and be of large value of preventing defect endoscopes on the surgery table.