Optical Integrity, Inc. introduces ScopeGuard™ Technology

ScopeGuard™ prevents injury to patients and staff by protecting ureteroscopes, cystoscopes, and any other scope that you can put a laser fiber through, from damage caused by laser energy and laser fibers.

The ScopeGuard™ system has three main components (ScopeGuard Device, ScopeGuard Sheath and ScopeSafe laser fibers). Each component offers unique clinical benefits that are not available from any other laser fiber manufacturer. The ScopeGuard™ Device detects spikes in temperature throughout the entire laser fiber. A “spike” in temperature occurs when a laser fiber is about to break inside a scope. ScopeGuard™ automatically shuts the laser’s foot switch off, within 1.1 milliseconds, when it detects a break in the laser fiber. Therefore, ScopeGuard™ prevents laser fiber fragments from being left in the patient and it also prevents expensive scope repairs.

Reusing laser fibers is one of the major causes of broken flexible ureteroscopes. However, the cost associated with a single patient use fiber can be quite expensive, especially with falling reimbursements and high costs in general for OR time and materials. With ScopeGuard&™, we have single patient use and reusable systems. If one of your hospitals is reusing their laser fibers, now (with ScopeGuard™) they can reuse the fiber and feel confident that the ureteroscopes are NOT going to be damaged due to reuse.

The pricing on the ScopeGuard™ is comparable to a standard laser fiber. Why use a laser fiber without protection for your scopes when protection is available at NO EXTRA COST?

The ScopeGuard™ Sheath:

a) Does not decrease irrigation flow or scope deflection!

b) Allows a laser fiber to be advanced through a deflected scope.

c) Does NOT damage the working channel of the scope while passing fiber to distal end of scope.

Clinical Benefit: A punctured or scored working channel will cause “fluid invasion” of a flexible scope. This is a major cause of scope repair and lost O.R. time. More importantly, when a scope has fluid invasion, normally it goes unnoticed until the next surgical procedure when the patient is on the table and under general anesthesia. It is well known that time under general anesthesia can be a root cause for DVTs and Pulmonary Embolisms, not to mention frustration for both surgeon and staff.

The ScopeSafe™ Laser Fiber:

a) Has a built in filtering system which prevents errant energy from entering the cladding of the laser fiber.

i) Energy migrates into the cladding of a deflected fiber (e.g. while reaching a lower pole stone) and causes fiber breakage. A breakage allows the energy to escape and burns the working channel of the flexible ureteroscope.

b) Clinical Benefit: Prevents injury to patient and staff from fiber breakage. Also provides longer life on a reusable laser fiber.

c) Has a glass ferrule which prevents the Blast Shield on the laser from being destroyed.

Competitive Olympus/Gyrus/ACMI: Endoscope Protection System (EPS)