Luckily, several medical device companies have stepped in to solve the problems. (Here are five of the innovations.)
Duodenoscopes are flexible, lighted tubes threaded through the mouth, throat and stomach into the top of the small intestine. They’re an important tool for spotting problems such as lesions and tumors in the pancreatic duct and bile duct, but the devices are also complex, with many small working parts.
“Duodenoscopes – regardless of whether they are reusable or single-use – are one of the most technically complex flexible endoscopes to design and manufacture, as they travel deep into the body with a camera mounted on the side instead of the front,” David Pierce, EVP and president of MedSurg and president of e…