For years, sterile processing professionals have followed detailed endoscope reprocessing instructions while relying largely on process adherence and experience to determine whether a scope was truly clean. At MarinHealth Medical Center in Greenbrae, Calif., that changed when the organization implemented AI-assisted endoscope inspection technology capable of visualizing internal channel damage and debris in real time. According to SPD leaders at MarinHealth, the technology has strengthened compliance efforts, improved technician confidence, reduced costly repairs, and introduced a new level of visibility into one of healthcare’s most critical and high-risk reprocessing workflows.
Paul Melter, SPD Supervisor at MarinHealth, and K.C. Van Voorhis, Director of Implementation at BH2 Innovations, recently sat down with Ralph Basile, a retired standards corporate executive at Healthmark, A Getinge Company, and a contributor to Healthcare Purchasing News.
BH2 Innovations is the creator of WatchDog AI.
Ralph Basile: Paul, give us a snapshot of MarinHealth and your SPD operation.
Paul Melter, SPD Supervisor, MarinHealth Medical Center: MarinHealth is a 327‑bed independent hospital serving the North Bay area of suburban San Francisco. Our SPD team runs 24/7 with 25 team members. Each month we process about 100,000 in‑house instruments, 500 loaner trays, and prepare roughly 220 scopes to support more than 11,000 annual procedures, including over 2,600 endoscopy cases.
Basile: Before SPD owned the process, how were endoscopes managed?
Melter: Endoscopy handled their own cleaning. Over time, compliance issues and inconsistencies appeared. That pushed a re-evaluation and the transition of scope processing into SPD, where we could strengthen standardization.
Basile: What did scope cleaning look like before AI tools entered the picture?
Melter: We followed manufacturer instructions, but it was essentially blind cleaning—you completed steps and assumed the outcome. We added ATP testing for reassurance, but we still couldn’t see inside the channels, especially for difficult‑to‑clean scopes.
Basile: How did inspection scopes and WatchDog AI change the game?
Melter: We started with an inspection scope that was hard to set up. After switching to the Healthmark FIS‑007 paired with WatchDog AI, the difference was immediate—we began seeing scratches, debris, and fraying we would’ve missed.
Basile: Change management is always a hurdle. How did your team adapt?
Melter: Initially, techs resisted adding a step. With hands‑on training and the ability to see issues in real time, confidence grew quickly. The visuals created trust in the process and in their own work.
Basile: What happened on the compliance front?
Melter: Our team proactively reported a potential issue to Olympus and the Joint Commission. When surveyors visited, they found our process above best practice—leadership received a report noting we were operating above and beyond expectations.
Basile: What operational and financial outcomes have you observed?
Melter: We’ve reduced rewash and consumable use (fewer ATP/protein tests and brush replacements), and repairs are caught earlier. After an initial surge—because we finally saw problems—repair costs trended down. Catching a scratch early can be a ~$2,000 repair; a puncture can exceed $10,000.
K.C. Van Voorhis, Director of Implementation, BH2 Innovations: The inspection step proved time‑neutral. You add verification, but you remove uncertainty and rework—it balances out.
Basile: Walk us through a typical inspection in your workflow.
Melter: After high‑level disinfection and before hanging to dry, we place the scope in a clean transport tray. Using a high-level disinfect inspection scope, we examine the instrument channel from proximal and distal ends, wipe the scope with alcohol, and move on to the next.
Basile: If you had to summarize your biggest lessons learned, what would they be?
Melter: Change is hard but necessary. Inspection scopes paired with AI dramatically improve cleanliness and scope health, and seeing anomalies in real time gives the team peace of mind.
Van Voorhis: More observable data leads to better decisions. AI amplifies the strengths of SPD technicians.
Basile: What would you tell a hospital considering AI‑assisted inspections?
Melter: Don’t wait. Being able to see inside a channel changes everything—you won’t want to go back.
Van Voorhis: We’re just getting started. As tools mature, SPD becomes safer, smarter, and more standardized.
