Lurking in your surgical trays is a device that could be quietly costing your hospital more than a million dollars.  While it is a modest looking instrument, only used for a few minutes during surgery, the reusable depth gauge adds not only costs and risk to orthopedic ORs across the United States, but has impacts that ripple across departments in the hospital including supply chains, sterility processing, and risk management.  It’s time for a change.

Risk and Cost in the OR

Nothing frustrates surgeons more, nor creates more danger for a patient than discovering a contaminated instrument. And yet, this happens every day in orthopedic ORs.  Often the source of contamination in the reusable depth gauge.

Though it looks simple, the depth gauge’s hidden nooks, crannies, and narrow cannulations trap bioburden in places reprocessing tools cannot reach. Well-trained SPD teams struggle to fully clean its internal features, and reassemble all the parts, creating avoidable risk for patients and uncertainty for the surgical team.

Contaminated surgical instruments led to surgical site infections; they have caused hospitals to suspend surgeries, creating liability risks. [link to other blog post]

Beyond the risk of infection, OR surgeons often struggle to read the analog measurements from the depth gauge, leading to multiple measurement attempts, wasted screws, or the need to use fluoroscopy on the patient, all extending precious OR time.  Even a 5-minute delay can have a quantifiable impact on the hospital’s bottom line.

The Burden on the SPD Team

Sterility processing departments are notoriously understaffed and regularly asked to do more with less.  The depth gauge is a particularly difficult instrument to thoroughly clean and sterilize.  Their intricate moving parts—sliding sleeves, calibrated markings, and tiny crevices—make thorough cleaning challenging. A 2018 study titled “Residual Bioburden After Standard Cleaning of the Reusable Orthopedic Depth Gauge” demonstrated that bioburden residue remained on gauges even after routine cleaning. The investigation uncovered this residue on 16.7% of devices, with 92% failing visual inspection for debris.

Impact on Patient Experience

Patients are at the center of everything the hospital does.  Most hospitals have some patient centered mission or value statement as part of their website, for example, Cleveland clinc notes amount their care priorities to, “Care for the patient as if they are your own family.”  This focus on the patient permeates every hospital. 

The reusable depth gauge adds unnecessary risk to achieving elevated patient care.  Potentially longer surgeries, surgical site infections, and other negative outcomes heighten risk and lessen the patient’s experience.

EDG® Helps Remove Hidden Costs            

The Electronic Depth Gauge (EDG) from EDGE Surgical removes the unknowns of the reusable depth gauge. EDG is the first sterile-packaged, single-patient-use electronic depth gauge designed to mitigate contamination risk, standardize measurement, and improve surgical consistency.

The EDG features a digital display that delivers precise, repeatable depth readings, removing guesswork, reducing repeated measurements, and preventing wasted screws. Its patented hook structure stabilizes placement for consistent and accurate results every time.

EDG boasts universal compatibility with major plate-and-screw systems used across orthopedic trauma, reconstruction, and extremity procedures.

With EDG, surgeons are assured of a sterile, accurate, easy-to-read depth gauge.  Supply chain benefits from reduced implant waste and fewer unplanned tray replacements.  SPD gains relief from an instrument they cannot reliably clean.  Risk management and infection prevention gain a clear path to lower exposure.  OR leadership gains a tool that helps keep rooms running on schedule.

EDG is always sterile, more precise, easier to read, and built for the modern operating room.

Ready to learn more? Contact Us today!