Cantel Medical
Preventing Endoscopic Infections

Endoscopy is a widely used diagnostic procedure in Gastronomy and is often prescribed by doctors during treatment, clearly because it is a nonsurgical procedure. Naturally, even if the process is of great help to treat ailments, it can also cause a lot of infections. The endoscopes are prone to becoming hugely contaminated with blood, secretions, and microorganisms during use. If the equipment is not sanitized properly, it can increase the possibility of transmission of infection from one patient to another. However, owing to the complex designs, the equipment can be difficult to disinfect. Proper sanitization of endoscopic equipment involves high-level disinfection by cleaning, rinsing, and drying before it is put in storage. Addressing the needs, New Jersey-based Cantel is a leading firm that provides best-in-class solutions for infection prevention to healthcare organizations by developing specialized medical device reprocessing systems for endoscopic equipment, enhancing the safety quotient of patients.

Founded in 1963, Cantel creates disposables that include single-use valves and irrigation tubing. The reprocessing product line of the company, called MEDIVATORS uses disinfectants, sterilants, detergents, leak testing, and other supplies to disinfect high-level endoscopes. The MEDIVATORS reduce infection risk by eliminating the need for manual cleaning and disinfection. Besides, these reprocessing products represent a combination of capital equipment, automated endoscope reprocessors (AERs), high-level disinfectant chemistries, and consumables. These are used to pre-clean, test, disinfect, store and electronically track endoscopes from the point of removal from a patient through utilization in the next patient.

Additionally, Cantel’s products also include DEFENDO sterile disposable valves, ENDOGATOR disposable gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy irrigation tubing, and the ENDO SMARTCAP disposable sterile water bottle adaptor. The use of the DEFENDO Sterile Single-Use Valves helps in solving the issue of reusable valve reprocessing by offering a single-use option that ensures new sterile valves for every procedure. Whereas, the ENDOGATOR is a totally disposable option to the reusable irrigation tube set in GI Endoscopy. It is equipped with a back-flow valve to prevent potential infection risks. The ENDO SMARTCAP Tubing, which is a 24-hour use water bottle adapter is designed to minimize infection control risks associated with manual cleaning and sterilization. Cantel also provides two other crucial endoscopy accessories - the CLEANASCOPE and SURESTORE endoscope storage and transport system. The CLEANASCOPE protects endoscopes by preventing contact with airborne contaminants and minimizing direct handling during short-term transport and storage. The SURESTORE, on the other hand, provides a long-term storage and transportation of endoscopes by assuring the storage each scope for as many as 100 days. Directly conditioned from an endoscope washer, the SURESTORE provides a ready-to-use packaged endoscope in only five minutes.

Apart from catering to endoscopic needs, Cantel develops, manufactures, and services water purification systems and accessories for healthcare usages, particularly dialysis, and for research laboratories and pharmaceuticals. The company also provides other disposable products, like face masks, sterilization pouches, biological monitoring systems and indicators, towels and bibs, tray covers, and surface barriers, among others. Further enhancing its offerings, Cantel recently acquired Omnia S.p.A., an Italian-based market leader that provides kits, sutures, and irrigation line system backed by a solid history developing and selling sterile and disposable surgical products.

Cantel is redefining ways to prevent infections during endoscopic procedures led by a team of highly-skilled experts who provide all the necessary solutions for reprocessing endoscopic equipment. The team is headed by George L. Fotiades, the company CEO who has more than 35 years of experience in the healthcare and consumer products industries. “Cantel has an excellent market position and many opportunities ahead for both organic growth and continued acquisition activity,” says Fotiades.