Overview
KARL STORZ Endoscopy-America, Inc. manufactures and distributes medical device equipment used in surgery. Its field teams install and service endoscopy and surgical systems in operating theatres, ambulatory surgical centres and pathology labs.
Fibre was slowing that work down. Technicians rolled out hundreds of feet of pre-terminated cable and had to store the slack. Replacing a worn cable in a boom arm took two technicians and several hours.
KARL STORZ moved to Cleerline SSF fibre, which technicians terminate in the field in under a minute. Service time for a fibre failure in a boom arm fell by 75%, from four work hours down to one.
This deployment took place in the United States. AVD distributes Cleerline across Australia and New Zealand, so integrators here can specify the same fibre for hospital and medical projects.
The Challenge: Fibre That Fought the Clock in a Theatre
An operating theatre is one of the hardest places to run a cable. Access windows are short. The space around a boom arm is tight. Every metre of loose cable is a compliance problem.
KARL STORZ was working with pre-terminated fibre, and that created several issues.
- Spare cable had to go somewhere. Installs meant storing around 50 ft (roughly 15 metres) of unused fibre on site, with no clean place to put it.
- Service calls tied up two people. Replacing a worn cable between a centralised rack and a boom needed multiple technicians to handle the excess fibre and the gear that went with it.
- Jobs ran long. Rolling out and managing long pre-terminated runs was slow and logistically complicated.
- Traditional fibre is fragile. Standard fibre has exposed glass cladding. Repeated bends in confined spaces put terminations at risk.
- Bare glass is a safety risk. In a clinical setting, fibre shards that can puncture soft tissue are a hazard nobody wants.
KARL STORZ needed a fibre its own technicians could cut and terminate on site, to the exact length, without a fusion splicer.
The Solution: Cleerline SSF Field Terminated Fibre
Cleerline SSF uses a proprietary glass, glass and polymer construction. An integral polymer coating sits over the fibre so the glass cladding is never exposed. Cleerline rates the bend longevity at up to 10,000 times that of traditional fibre.
That construction changes the termination process. There is no cleaning and no stripping of the fibre, so a connector goes on in less than a minute.
“There is no need for a fusion splicer or splicing system. You don’t use strippers for the acrylate coating or need to clean it with alcohol once removed. Termination can be done quickly and simply and, unlike traditional fibers, without the risk of the fiber puncturing soft tissues.”
Steven Ricks, National Sales Manager, Cleerline
Products Deployed
| Component | Specification | Why It Mattered Here |
|---|---|---|
| Cleerline SSF Duplex Fibre | D5025MOM3P, 2 strand duplex OM3, plenum rated | Multimode duplex suits the short runs between a rack and a boom. Plenum rating covers air handling spaces in hospital ceilings. |
| SSF glass, glass and polymer construction | Integral polymer coating, cladding never exposed, bend longevity up to 10,000 times traditional fibre | Survives repeated bends in tight theatre spaces. No bare glass, so no shards near patients or staff. |
| Cleerline SSF connectors | Field terminated, no epoxy, no polishing, no fusion splicer | Technicians cut to the exact length on site. No factory lead time and no third party fibre contractor. |
| SSF Pro-Optical Fibre Termination Kit | Complete field termination tool kit | One kit per technician covers the whole job. Termination takes under a minute per end. |
| Cleerline Academy Level 2 | Hands on training and certification | All KARL STORZ field technicians were trained and certified, so the skill sits in house. |
Runs on this deployment are short. Nothing exceeds 300 feet, or roughly 90 metres.
How It Works in the Field
- Measure on site. The technician works out the real run between the rack and the boom.
- Cut to that length. The fibre is cut on the spot, so there is no coil of spare cable to hide.
- Terminate both ends. No stripping, no alcohol clean, no polishing. Each end takes under a minute.
- Leave a service loop. A short loop inside the boom means the next repair is a re-termination instead of a full cable pull.
- Re-terminate when needed. One technician handles a boom arm fibre failure in about an hour.
Key Outcomes and Results
- Service time down 75%. A fibre failure in a boom arm went from four work hours to one.
- One technician instead of two. The job no longer needs a second pair of hands for excess fibre.
- No more spare cable on site. Teams stopped storing 50 ft of unused fibre at every install.
- Exact lengths kept the job compliant. Cutting to size saved time and money and held code compliance.
- Confined spaces stopped being a worry. The strength of SSF means repeated bends during installation are no problem.
- Fewer termination service tickets. After training, KARL STORZ saw fewer calls come in about terminations.
- Training got faster. New and experienced staff both picked up the process quickly from short videos plus one in person session.
“Now when we service equipment, we have enough service loop in the boom to re-terminate and it takes just one technician and one hour of time, instead of two technicians and multiple hours.”
Jason White, National Lead, OR1 Product Deployment, KARL STORZ
“You can tie this fiber in a knot and it doesn’t break or lose the signal, and even in confined spaces we don’t think twice because we know it’s not going to break.”
Jason White, National Lead, OR1 Product Deployment, KARL STORZ
Why Cleerline SSF for Healthcare and Medical Device Installs
Hospital work has its own rules. Access is limited, the environment is clinical, and a return visit costs far more than it does in a commercial office.
- Field termination removes the lead time. Cutting and terminating on site means no waiting on factory assemblies and no third party fibre contractor.
- No exposed glass. The polymer coating keeps the cladding covered, which matters in a room with patients in it.
- Built for tight bends. Booms, pendants and equipment carts all force fibre into curves that punish standard cable.
- Exact lengths help with compliance. Running the length you need keeps cable management tidy and code compliant.
- Simple to learn. Termination does not require certification, and technicians pick it up from short training videos.
- Training is available. Cleerline Academy Level 2 offers hands on training and certification for field teams who want it.
- Fibre solves distance and interference. Optical runs carry 4K video between racks and theatre displays with no copper related noise.
Partner With AVD
AVD distributes Cleerline SSF fibre across Australia and New Zealand. If you are quoting a hospital, day surgery, imaging suite or medical device project, we can help you specify the right fibre, connectors and termination kit.
The same products suit any job where field termination saves a site visit. That includes education, government, stadium and security work as well as healthcare.
Get in touch with the AVD team to talk through your next Cleerline deployment or to arrange a termination kit demonstration.
