steam sterilizer

Abstract

A steam sterilizer (1) for medical equipment comprises a feed system (30), a discharge system (40) and a purification system (50). The feed system is adapted to feed material into the sterilization chamber (20), and the feed system comprises at least one main tank (31) for containing the sterilization fluid (1a). The discharge system is adapted to discharge the discharge fluid (1b) from the disinfection chamber (20). The purification system is adapted to withdraw at least one of the disinfection fluid and the discharge fluid (1a, 1b) from at least one of the supply system and the discharge system (30, 40) and to extract the extracted The fluid is introduced into the main tank (31), and the purification system includes a cleaning device (51) adapted to filter the extracted fluid.

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention relates to a steam sterilizer for medical equipment, the steam sterilizer comprises: a feeding system, which is suitable for feeding material into a sterilization chamber, and the feeding system has at least one main container for containing a sterilization fluid tank; a drain system adapted to drain drain fluid from said sterilization chamber. [0002] More specifically, the present invention relates to a steam sterilizer for sterilizing and / or sterilizing surgical or dental instruments (hereinafter referred to simply as medical equipment) using saturated steam at very high temperature and pressure. Background technique [0003] It is well known that during any surgery, the use of medical equipment that has been sterilized to a high standard is of utmost importance in order to prevent infection or other similar problems. [0004] Accordingly, various sterilizers have been designed which use different methods to achieve a high st...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

[0013] These steam sterilizers are fed potable water (which is water in mains pipes), which are not particularly suitable due to the presence of microbial flora, however, the type and concentration of microbial flora are generally harmless (in any case, can be eliminated during the disinfection process, but increases the risk of residual bacterial load)

[0014] In some cases, for example, in the case of degraded water supply pipes, the microflora may include harmful microorganisms that, if they come into contact with mucous membranes or internal organs, can cause serious complications

If such microorganisms are present in too high a concentration, the disinfection effect will be reduced and the degree of risk will be increased compared to normal conditions

[0015] In addition, if contaminated water is used in the sterilizer, biofilm will form inside the pipes and tanks, which will gradually increase the concentration of potentially harmful and absolutely unsuitable microorganisms

[0016] Finally, the main problem due to the use of ordinary drinking water is the presence of scale and other suspended solid residues which will eventually form scale

[0018] In addition, these deposits lead to the risk of fracture, clogging and premature wear of hydraulic system components (valves, pumps, etc.)

[0019] In order to overcome the above problems, external systems are often used, i.e. usually reverse osmosis systems, in which membranes are used to retain solutes to obtain sterilized water which is substantially free of minerals, thus the already Disinfected water has low conductivity

[0020] Reverse osmosis disinfection systems have some important disadvantages such as high cost

[0021] Another important disadvantage of this type of reverse osmosis system is that its purification capacity decreases rapidly

[0022] Another problem related to the disadvantages mentioned is that since the water is not completely sterilized, when the water stays in the main tank before it is used, the bacterial load will increase, so that the sterilization standard achieved by the steam sterilizer will be reduced. reduce

[0025] An important issue involved with sterilizers equipped with an internal filter is that the filter must be able to purify the water in a short time

[0029] In order to overcome said problems and ensure fast filtration, such filters are usually very bulky and therefore very expensive

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