This sterilisation method substantially extends sterility and safety and reduces the need for harmful chemicals. Hospitals thus achieve a much higher hygiene and patient safety standard.

In the autoclave process the medical instruments are exposed to great strain which can affect their reliability and durability by damaging the optical components. Olympushas focused much of its R+D efforts on improving the resistance of its instruments to this method. Its engineers, cooperating in the research project PROMIS, have come up with a solution to this problem: a sapphire window covering the endoscope’s tip completely, thus protecting the sensitive optical components inside against aggressive substances and steam. This will prolong the endoscope’s life considerably.

Internal tests have proven that even after a long usage time and over 1000 autoclave cycles, Olympus rigid endoscopes operate almost without loss of imaging quality. The longevity, durability and reliability of the instruments help reduce hospital’s expenses for servicing or replacements. A study by OlympusAmerica from 1999 comparing different sterilisation methods shows that autoclaving costs only around 5% of the cost of sterilisation with peracetic acid and about 7% of the cost of sterilisation with gas plasma.