An in Vitro Study of a New Device: Evaluation of Novel Wide-Angle Lens Flexible Cystoscope Using Phantom Bladder Model

Introduction: The features and usefulness of a novel wide-angle lens flexible cystoscope were assessed with a view to its practical application. Materials and Methods: A phantom bladder model, on which a total of 12 markers that resemble lesions were arranged, was created for this study. Twenty-six urologists at three institutions observed this phantom bladder model using a conventional flexible cystoscope and a novel wide-angle lens flexible cystoscope, and they compared the observation time, marker detection rate, number of misidentified marker locations, overlooked locations, and misidentified location sites of both devices. Specific observation procedures that make use of the features of a wide-angle lens flexible cystoscope were also investigated. Results: The observation time tended to be shorter with the wide-angle lens cystoscope than with a conventional cystoscope (104.9 seconds vs 113.6 seconds, p = 0.123). The marker detection rate was higher with the wide-angle lens cystoscope (90.2% vs 85.1%, p = 0.005). The number of marker location misidentifications did not differ between the two devices. Using a specifically designed observation procedure with the wide-angle lens cystoscope tended to further improve the marker detection rate (91.4% vs 88.1%, p = 0.157). Conclusion: Compared with a conventional cystoscope, a wide-angle lens cystoscope improved the lesion detection rate and has the potential to reduce observation time. The novel wide-angle lens flexible cystoscope is regarded as a useful device that offers advantages not available with a conventional cystoscope.