Comparing Single-Use and Reusable Bronchoscopes for Interventional Pulmonology

Endoscopy Insights Podcast

Comparing Single-Use and Reusable Bronchoscopes for Interventional Pulmonology

"They (single-use bronchoscopes) are equivalent and in many cases they are better." - Dr. Jonathan Kurman



The conventional wisdom in interventional pulmonology has long been that reusable bronchoscopes perform better than their single-use counterparts, but new research counters that thinking.

A recent study, part of a poster presentation at the World Congress for Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology (WCBIP) 2022 in Marseille, France, found that three of four single-use flexible bronchoscopes that were tested performed better in flexion and extension than reusable competitors.

The latest single-use flexible bronchoscopes, according to the study’s authors, are a significant advance­ment over prior generations.

One of those authors is Dr. Jonathan Kurman and he’s our guest on the latest episode of Endoscopy Insights. Dr. Kurman is an assistant professor of medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin and the director of interventional pulmonology for the Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) health network.

He completed an interventional pulmonology fellowship at the University of Chicago and pulmonary & critical care training at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He is board certified in interventional pulmonology, internal medicine, pulmonary medicine and critical care.

Disclosure: Ambu provided funding for the study’s evaluation and testing, and Dr. Kurman is an Ambu consultant.

Show notes:

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Endoscopy Insights is a podcast devoted to conversations with thought leaders in flexible and single-use endoscopy. In each episode we’ll explore the ways different clinical and technological innovations are moving the field of endoscopy forward.       

Endoscopy Insights is brought to you by Single-Use Endoscopy, part of the Ambu Learning Center. Ambu has been bringing healthcare solutions of the future to life since 1937.

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