Nanosonics’ CORIS System Secures Gold at 2026 Australian Design Awards

Flexible endoscopes remain essential to modern medicine, yet their complex internal channels are notoriously difficult to clean. Manual scrubbing methods often prove inconsistent, leaving behind organic soil or biofilm that can jeopardize patient health. By automating this critical pre-disinfection stage, the CORIS platform aims to eliminate the variability inherent in traditional manual labor.

Good Design jurors highlighted the cross-disciplinary effort behind the technology, noting years of collaboration between engineers, designers, and healthcare practitioners. The system’s ability to reduce cross-contamination risks was a primary factor in the selection. This recognition follows a series of regulatory milestones, including 2025 clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and inclusion in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods. Research published in the Journal of Hospital Infection in 2024 further validated these claims, demonstrating that the automated process outperforms manual cleaning techniques.

For Nanosonics CEO Michael Kavanagh, the award validates a long-term commitment to solving a decades-old industry problem. He emphasized that the design focused equally on clinical efficiency and the daily realities faced by hospital staff. By standardizing the cleaning process, the company seeks to transform how medical facilities manage infection prevention on a global scale.