Manual Cleaning vs Automation: Achieving Consistent Cleanliness for Ultrasound Device Reprocessing

Preventable healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) remain a costly and persistent threat to patient safety, and the reprocessing of semi-critical devices—particularly ultrasound probes—represents a critical point of vulnerability. Manual cleaning methods are time-consuming, inconsistent, and highly dependent on human performance, creating wide variability in outcomes and increasing the risk of residual contamination like biofilm formation and downstream infection transmission. Despite their routine use across clinical settings, few healthcare facilities have fully addressed the limitations and compliance risks inherent in manual probe cleaning workflows.

As regulatory scrutiny and staffing pressures intensify, ensuring consistent, validated cleaning prior to high-level disinfection has become essential. Automated cleaning technologies are emerging as a practical response to these challenges, offering standardized, repeatable processes that reduce human error and integrate more seamlessly into modern clinical workflows. Evidence increasingly shows that automation not only improves cleanliness outcomes but also reduces operational burden, audit risk, and long-term financial exposure associated with HAIs and device damage.

Insights from Jill Holdsworth, CIC, FAPIC, Medical Affairs Manager at CS Medical, highlight the risks of manual ultrasound probe cleaning, as well as how automation can strengthen reprocessing programs, improve patient and staff safety, and deliver measurable operational and cost benefits for healthcare facilities navigating today’s complex clinical environment.

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CS Medical manufactures and markets automated medical device reprocessing solutions that clean and high-level disinfect ultrasound probes, helping healthcare providers reduce patient risk and improve compliance. Founded in 2003, the company is recognized as a pioneer in automated ultrasound probe reprocessing, delivering science-based, FDA-cleared technologies that replace manual processes with consistent, validated workflows across transesophageal, endocavity, and surface ultrasound probes. For more information, visit https://csmedicalllc.com.