A User's Guide to Flexible Cystoscopes

Abstract
This survey, carried out on behalf of the BAUS Instruments Committee, aims to assist the urologist in choosing a flexible cystoscope. The 5 most commonly available flexible cystoscopes (from ACMI, Olympus, Pentax, Storz and Wolf) were assessed in a clinical setting for handling, image quality and user satisfaction. Several technical characteristics, including deflection range, irrigant flow rate and optics, were tested in the laboratory. Whilst all instruments were satisfactory, the favourite of our testing panel was the Olympus CYF-2, which also came out best in the technical assessment and has the most comprehensive service support. The cheaper Storz instrument also performed well.