Ergonomic endoscopy: An oxymoron or realistic goal?

The current endoscope design is not ergonomic. There is a high prevalence of endoscopy-related injury reported in the literature, and studies have demonstrated high-risk biomechanical exposures during the performance of routine colonoscopy. Endoscopy ergonomics focuses on understanding the endoscopist's interaction with the endoscope and the endoscopy unit and re-designing these tasks to minimize risk of endoscopy-related injury. The conversation to date has focused on what the endoscopist can do to minimize his or her risk of injury. It is imperative that we re-frame that discussion because the implication that physicians are responsible for implementing personal or workplace interventions places an undue burden on the physicians and will be the least-effective exposure control method. The endoscope companies need to consider the endoscopist in their design process. As a profession, we need to collectively advocate for endoscopist safety. We offer a perspective on how ergonomic endoscopy can become a realistic and achievable goal.