Every year, the IDSc Congress gives an invaluable platform to the most talked about topics in Decontamination. This year’s theme, “Engineering Intelligence and Assurance in Modern Decontamination Sciences”, tells us a lot already.

So ahead of November, we’ve been thinking about the conversations we expect to hear most. Here are our 5 predictions!

1. Assurance will stop meaning “we can prove it afterwards”

The Great Debate asks what assurance will look like in 2030. We predict that much of the discussion will point to one very notable answer – that true assurance will be assurance you can see as it happens (rather than assurance you piece together after the fact).

For years, proving that every instrument was processed correctly has meant pulling disparate records together for an audit:

Audits used to take a week, sometimes a month.

Abdul Youssef, Hampshire Hospital Decontamination Lead, Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital

That’s now changing, as the data required to provide assurance that previously lived across multiple systems, in multiple places, is being centralised by software. Tech is catching up; its integrative, intuitive, and being built with data at the forefront, not as an afterthought.

2. Every conversation about AI will come back to data

AI and advanced robotics are headline topics this year, and rightly so. But we predict the most useful discussions won’t be about the technology itself, but rather about what sits underneath it.

AI can only learn from the records it’s given. If instrument histories are incomplete, inconsistent or trapped in separate systems, even the smartest tools will struggle to be accurate. And that inaccuracy is what leads to a lack of assurance.

The departments best placed for what comes next will be the ones getting their data foundations right today.

3. Endoscopy will be one of the biggest conversations in the room

Flexible endoscopes are among the most complex devices any decontamination team handles. Biofilm, water quality, chemicals and microbiology are all live topics across IDSc’s 2026 program, and for good reason.

We predict the focus will fall on visibility as it’s no longer enough to know a scope was processed; teams want to know its full story. That includes every cycle, washer, hand it passed through, and every point where something could have gone differently.

4. Complex devices will raise the bar for instrument history

Robotic-assisted surgery is growing, and the Congress will explore what that means for reprocessing. More sophisticated instruments bring more components, stricter processing requirements and higher stakes if something is missed.

Our prediction is that the question won’t just be “can we clean it?” but, “can we prove the complete history of this instrument, every time?” .

5. Missing instruments will finally get the airtime they deserve

The IDSc has been raising awareness of missing instruments through its own survey work, and we expect it to spark significant conversations. Missing instruments cost time, money and theatre sessions, and they put pressure on teams who are already incredibly stretched.

We think that part of the answer is you can’t find what you can’t trace, and we’re excited to hear more on what the IDSc think about this!

What ties it all together

There’s one thing that ties all of our theme predictions together, and that is Data.

Assurance, AI, endoscopy, complex devices and missing instruments all depend on knowing exactly what happened to every item, and being able to act on it.

Decontamination teams are the heart of the hospital. The work they do every day makes safe surgery possible.

We think this year’s Congress will be a chance to celebrate that, and to talk seriously about the tools that will support them over the next decade.

Stay tuned

We’ll be at Stand 25, and we’re bringing a couple of things we’ve been working on for a long time. We can’t say much yet, but if data and endoscopy are on your mind this year, you’ll want to come and see us!

In the meantime, we’d love to hear from you. What do you think will be a talking point at the IDSc Congress 2026? Did we miss anything?

See you at Stand 25!