Endoscopy: simplifying the reporting process

The software system is proving popular with NHS endoscopy units in England seeking to present clear evidence of high standards of clinical practice and patient care to the Joint Advisory Group (JAG) on GI Endoscopy. JONATHAN BAILLIE reports.

On a visit to Olympus’ UK headquarters, Endobase project manager, Robert Stow, explained that the software is part of the company’s EndoAlpha product suite, ‘an endoscopy integration solution created to increase efficiency and improve ergonomics, communication, and information systems, for medical teams in the endoscopy suite or operating theatre’. The Endoalpha system is said to ‘extend the capabilities of a clinical environment by integrating medical devices and departments’. Video endoscopes used for endoscopic examinations, for example, in bowel cancer screening, plug into a processor. The processor ‘processes’ the video images which are then displayed on wall or pendant-mounted HD viewing screens to enable the endoscopist to make an accurate diagnosis, and give the clinical team a detailed view of the procedure in progress. The camera, processor, and viewing screens form part of a product portfolio, which includes audio and video capture, recording, and streaming modules that allow live or recorded footage to be transmitted from theatres or endoscopy rooms to other locations within the same hospital, or to a remote site – of particular benefit for teaching and training. Endoalpha also allows clinical teams to determine which images are fed to which screens, and to set and adjust all medical devices, the theatre’s room and operating lights, and even play music, with all adjustments and settings made via touchscreen panels.

Accurate record-keeping