About EDGE Specialty...
Our Company
Edge Specialty has raised the bar on dual-vented drying platforms for medical endoscopes. Products designed from scratch to satisfy current industry recommendations for the drying and storage of heat-sensitive medical instruments, DesertAir® combines the superior quality and durability of stainless steel components, unparalleled workmanship and construction with time-tested performance of the Dri-Scope Aid™ drying systems - arguably the most recognized name in the scope drying business. Together, they represent a new high mark in dual HEPA-filtered drying and storage capability.
Fundamental Expertise
Developed as an alternative to single-use instrument technologies, Edge Specialty designs and manufactures storge/drying platforms that complement effective and efficient reprocessing standards for reusable, heat-sensitive flexible instruments. Uniquely qualified to assess functional lapses in the clinical spectrum, our product family developed out of a decided lack of reliable and compliant solutions, in a rapidly emerging marketplace. As arguably one of the most well-constructed cabinet platforms in the industry, its superiority in engineering and design is further eclipsed by the integrated, Dri-Scope Aid® Cabinet – the bellwether of the industry.
Mission
At the heart of our business is the notion that keeping patients safe is personal. Edge Specialty is dedicated to the philosophy that the highest-quality materials and workmanship coupled with the knowledge from experienced professionals highly correlate with unmatched reliability and the safest possible clinical outcomes.
Origins
Originally founded in 2014 as a manufacturer’s rep group, Edge Specialty grew out of a central focus in endoscopic reprocessing. Facing limited competitive solutions in an emerging market sector, the company segued into the manufacturing space with the DesertAir® line of Endoscopic Drying Cabinets in 2019. Built from three primary platform widths, Edge Specialty products offer custom and semi-custom drying and storage solutions to the healthcare marketplace.
Endoscopic storage cabinets have been around a long time - almost as long as the first endoscopic instruments. Ever since the practice of mounting bicycle hooks on a backwall fell out of favor with infection control professionals, specialized endoscope storage cabinets began to emerge as a more clinically acceptable alternative. And while cabinet designs haven’t changed that much, flexible endoscopes have evolved tremendously in form, function, and overall numbers. More specifically, two changes have had the most significant impact. First off, massive technological upgrades to the original endoscope design resulted in substantial increases in weight and physical configuration. As cabinets aged, instruments became heavier, and durability was tested. Original scope hangers made of cheaper materials became a critical source of weakness that resulted in compromises to its structural integrity. Nothing draws attention quite like a collapsed scope hanger and a $75,000 endoscope crumpled up on the floor of a cabinet.
Second, improved reprocessing protocols ushered in automated processes for cleaning, drying and storage – clearly, a positive. Unfortunately, current AER systems that checked the box for automated cleaning, failed to adequately dry the long, narrow channels of flexible endoscopes – a documented source of microbial proliferation. Soon, rapid evacuation of internal residual moisture via drying cabinets began to emerge as the default solution. Virtually overnight, the traditional veneered particleboard construction of many existing products became vulnerable to the moisture produced in these highly aerosolized environments. The marketplace was shifting and compliance with stricter standards quickly became not just the preference but the priority.
The timing was right for a new design in endoscope drying and storage and yes, materials matter. When four decades of clinical expertise sits down with a multi-generational metal fabricator, the results are nothing short of astounding. DesertAir® Drying Cabinets are only available in one type of material - 304 stainless steel. Arguably the most recognizable material in the sterile processing space, it is virtually impervious to moisture and most harsh chemical compounds. Our endoscope hangers - also stainless steel - are second to none in durability and design. With attention to detail that shows up in seamless compliance to the strictest standards, we invite you to inspect our products. We promise, they won’t disappoint.