The Pribaichuan system, a robot-assisted bronchoscopy platform equipped with disposable bronchoscopes and related consumables, boasts advantages such as easy installation and cleaning, reduced risk of cross-infection, ensuring doctors and patients use new, high-performance endoscopes in every procedure, an ultra-large diameter working channel enabling full intraoperative visualization, support for electromagnetic navigation to locate lesions, and an endoscope capable of omnidirectional bending and access to the entire lung. Combined with 3D Imaging (DT) technology that deeply integrates robotic imaging, it overcomes the discrepancy between CT images and the patient's actual anatomy, ensuring high-precision entry of the tool into the lesion. This further elevates minimally invasive, high-precision, and safe procedures to new heights, propelling respiratory intervention into a new era of intelligent and safe procedures.

In the fast-paced clinical practice, patient safety and treatment efficiency are the bottom lines that doctors always uphold. However, the long-standing problems of infection risks, cumbersome procedures, and performance degradation of traditional reusable bronchoscopes have been troubling clinical teams in respiratory and critical care medicine departments, operating rooms, and ICUs.

Today, disposable bronchoscopes have become game-changers in the field of interventional respiratory medicine with their disruptive advantages, reducing the burden on doctors and protecting patients with their more reliable performance.

While the initial purchase cost of disposable bronchoscopes may seem higher, their economic benefits are significant from a long-term operational perspective. Eliminating the need for reprocessing the bronchoscopes directly saves on labor, water, electricity, and disinfectant costs, effectively avoiding the high maintenance expenses associated with reusable equipment. It also reduces medical expenditures related to cross-infection, thus achieving precise optimization of overall hospital operating costs. Multiple studies indicate that, considering all cost factors, the overall cost of performing a single surgery using a disposable bronchoscope is more competitive than that of a reusable bronchoscope.

First, break the deadlock: The 'hidden risks' of reusable mirrors have never been truly resolved.

Even with strict adherence to cleaning, disinfection, and reprocessing procedures, the risk of cross-infection with reusable bronchoscopes has long existed.

The US FDA has issued multiple safety warnings, stating that reusing endoscopes poses a risk of cross-contamination among patients, and has explicitly recommended prioritizing the use of disposable endoscopes in high-infection scenarios such as multidrug-resistant bacteria, immunocompromised patients, and COVID-19 patients.[1]

Clinical studies have shown that even after standard disinfection, the microbial contamination rate of reusable endoscopes is still as high as 58%, and pathogenic bacteria and fungi can be detected, which can easily lead to outbreaks of nosocomial infections [2].

Biofilm residue, pipe wear, and incomplete cleaning make 'sterility' a difficult goal to achieve.

These risks not only threaten patient safety, but also affect the department's reputation and the quality of medical care.

Disposable bronchoscopes: Ensuring 'safety' in every pack

The Pribaichuan system, a robot-assisted bronchoscopy platform equipped with disposable bronchoscopes and related consumables, addresses the root cause of infection problems, providing peace of mind with zero cross-infection:

• Instant sterilization upon opening: Individually sterilized packaging ensures each instrument is brand new, eliminating residual contamination.

• Meets FDA's high-risk scenario recommendations: It is a safe choice in cases of multidrug-resistant bacteria, immunodeficiency, prion diseases, COVID-19 infection, and inadequate reprocessing conditions [3]

• No biofilm, no tubing damage: Say goodbye to the diagnostic and treatment risks caused by the aging and defects of reusable endoscopes. For doctors, there is no need to repeatedly question whether the instruments are clean. They can be used right out of the box and with peace of mind throughout the process.

Say goodbye to waiting: Always available, zero-blocking processes.

The reprocessing of reusable endoscopes is lengthy and complex: cleaning → disinfection → testing → repair → storage, which can easily lead to equipment shortages and waiting delays.

The clinical data comparison is intuitive:

From the moment the need for surgery is confirmed to the actual start of the procedure, the median waiting time for a single-use bronchoscope (10 minutes) is much shorter than that for a reusable bronchoscope (66 minutes) [3].

Disposable bronchoscopes are ready to use immediately, requiring no further processing or maintenance. They cover emergency, routine, and bedside scenarios, streamlining processes and allowing doctors to give patients more time.

Always online performance: every operation is 'stable, accurate, and clear'.

After repeated use and disinfection, reusable endoscopes are prone to image blurring, control jamming, and tubing damage. After cleaning, reusable endoscopes have visible defects[5], which directly affect the accuracy of diagnosis and treatment.

Disposable bronchoscopes achieve zero performance degradation:

High-definition imaging and smooth operation allow for full lung segment exploration in over 90% of cases.[6]

• Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) has a higher volume of blood returned to the lungs, and the cell harvest rate is comparable to that of reusable endoscopy, reducing postoperative discomfort such as cough and chest pain [7]

• The learning curve is short, the satisfaction rate of clinicians is as high as 86%, and the preference for intubation and interventional procedures exceeds 59%[5][7]

Each device is built to brand new standards, providing stable output and giving you greater confidence in high-precision operations.

More cost-effective: More money saved over the entire cycle.

Many people mistakenly believe that disposable medical devices are more expensive, but the total life cycle cost will overturn this perception:

Reusable contact lenses have high costs: equipment purchase + maintenance + disinfection consumables + labor costs + infection control fees, the total cost per use far exceeds that of disposable products.

Multiple health economics studies have confirmed that:

• A single bronchoscopy can save RMB 1,940 (£211.12) per visit and reduce the risk of infection by 2.8%[8]

• In scenarios such as ICU and percutaneous dilatational tracheotomy (PDT), the cost advantage is more significant[9][10]

• No maintenance, no reprocessing, no equipment idleness and loss, making it more economical in the long run.

More environmentally friendly: Departmental management can now operate with a lighter burden.

The Pribaichuan system, as a robot-assisted bronchoscopy platform equipped with disposable bronchoscopes and related consumables, also has advantages in terms of organizational management and environmental impact:

• The process is simplified by 75%, eliminating the need for storage, cleaning, and quality inspection teams, thus freeing up departmental manpower and space.[11]

• The energy consumption and carbon emissions throughout the entire life cycle are lower than those of reusable mirrors (including cleaning, disinfection, and protective consumption) [12]

• Enterprises continue to promote environmentally friendly packaging, phthalate-free design, and plastic neutrality projects, which are in line with the trend of green healthcare [1]

A New Era in Interventional Respiratory Care: Disposable Bronchoscopes, the Doctor's 'Ideal Partner'

From clinical performance and infection control to cost-effectiveness and process efficiency, disposable bronchoscopes surpass traditional reusable endoscopes:

• Zero cross-infection, patient safety maximized

• Ready to use immediately; can be used for routine emergency procedures.

Stable performance, high-precision and reliable operation.

• Save money throughout the entire process, reduce the burden on departments and increase efficiency

• Green and environmentally friendly, in line with modern medical trends

The Pribaichuan system, a robot-assisted bronchoscopy platform equipped with disposable bronchoscopes and related consumables, is easy to install and clean, effectively reducing the risk of cross-infection. It allows doctors and patients to use a new, high-performance endoscope in every surgery. Its extra-large diameter working channel enables full intraoperative visualization; it also supports electromagnetic navigation for high-precision lesion localization, and the endoscope has omnidirectional bending capabilities, allowing access to the entire lung area. Utilizing 3D Imaging (DT) technology, which deeply integrates imaging capabilities with the robot system, it effectively compensates for discrepancies between CT images and the patient's actual anatomical structure, ensuring high-precision delivery of surgical instruments to the lesion. This elevates the precision and safety of minimally invasive diagnosis and treatment to a new level, propelling respiratory interventional diagnosis and treatment into a new stage of high precision and high safety.

Choosing a disposable bronchoscope is not simply a matter of replacing equipment.

Rather, it's an upgrade in patient safety, clinical efficiency, and medical quality.

Let doctors focus on diagnosis and treatment, and make diagnosis and treatment more reliable.

References

[1] Stop. aScope 4 Broncho evidence file(2nd edition)[R]. 2023.

[2] Ofstead C L, Quick M R, Wetzler H P, et al. Effectiveness of Reprocessing for Flexible Bronchoscopes and Endobronchial Ultrasound Bronchoscopes[J]. Chest, 2018, 154(5): 1024-1034.

[3] Marshall D C, Dagaonkar R S, Yeow C, et al. Experience with the Use of Single-Use Disposable Bronchoscope in the ICU in a Tertiary Referral Center of Singapore[J]. Journal of Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology, 2017, 24(2): 136-143.

[4] Noah Medical. Transforming Care: Why Single-Use Scopes Are a Game-Changer for Physicians[EB/OL]. (2025-03)[2026-04-07]. https://www.noahmed.com/articles/transforming-care-why-single-use-scopes-are-a-game-changer-for-physicians.

[5] Flandes J, Giraldo-Cadavid L F, Alfayate J, et al. Bronchoscopist’s perception of the quality of the single-use bronchoscope (Ambu aScope4TM) in selected bronchoscopies: a multicenter study in 21 Spanish pulmonology services[J]. Respiratory Research, 2020, 21(1): 320.

[6] Zaidi S R, Collins A M, Mitsi E, et al. Single use and conventional bronchoscopes for broncho alveolar lavage (BAL) in research: A comparative study (NCT 02515591)[J]. BMC Pulmonary Medicine, 2017, 17(1).

[7] Kriege M, Dalberg J, McGrath B A, et al. Evaluation of intubation and intensive care use of the new Ambu® aScopeTM 4 broncho and Ambu® aViewTM compared to a customary flexible endoscope a multicentre prospective, non-interventional study[J]. Trends in Anaesthesia and Critical Care, 2020, 31: 35-41.

[8] Mærkedahl A, Lindvig A, Pagh A, et al. Cost-Utility Analysis of the Ambu ® aScope TM 4 Broncho Single- Use Flexible Video Bronchoscope Compared to Reusable Flexible Video Bronchoscopes[J]. 2020.

[9] Terjesen C L, Kovaleva J, Ehlers L. Early Assessment of the Likely Cost Effectiveness of Single-Use Flexible Video Bronchoscopes[J]. PharmacoEconomics - Open, 2017, 1(2): 133-141.

[10] Sohrt A, Ehlers L, Udsen F W, et al. Cost Comparison of Single-Use Versus Reusable Bronchoscopes Used for Percutaneous Dilatational Tracheostomy[J]. PharmacoEconomics - Open, 2019, 3(2): 189-195.

[11] Châteauvieux C, Farah L, Guérot E, et al. Single-use flexible bronchoscopes compared with reusable bronchoscopes: Positive organizational impact but a costly solution[J]. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 2018, 24(3): 528-535.

[12] Sørensen B L, Grüttner H. Comparative Study on Environmental Impacts of Reusable and Single-Use Bronchoscopes[J]. Am. J. Environ. Prot., 2018, 7(4): 8.

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