Device for sanitizing stethoscopes
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- EP · EP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-05-20
- Publication Date
- 2026-04-08
AI Technical Summary
Stethoscopes, commonly used in healthcare, pose a high risk for microbial transmission due to inadequate disinfection between patients, largely because existing disinfection devices are cumbersome, expensive, and inefficient, with complex constructions that do not easily adapt to different head sizes and often leave areas shaded from UV-C radiation.
A compact, lightweight, and cost-effective stethoscope disinfection device with a flexible coupling element, UV-C LEDs, and a simple design that automatically disinfects without user intervention, featuring a flared circular opening and wedge-shaped reliefs to ensure complete surface coverage, and biocidal materials for enhanced efficacy.
The device ensures rapid, efficient, and universal disinfection of stethoscopes, achieving 99.99% disinfection levels in a few seconds, while being ergonomic and adaptable to various stethoscope sizes, reducing the risk of cross-infection and minimizing waste disposal costs.
Smart Images
Figure IB2024054876_05122024_PF_FP_ABST
Abstract
Description
[0001] DEVICE FOR SANITIZING STETHOSCOPES
[0002] Description
[0003] Field of the invention
[0004] The present invention refers to a device for sanitizing or disinfecting medical instruments, in particular stethoscopes.
[0005] Background art
[0006] In clinical and outpatient practice, doctors and healthcare workers make extensive use of portable instruments, frequently used both for the evaluation of the patient's main physiological functions, for treatment purposes, and also for the communication or recording of clinical data.
[0007] The hygiene of these instruments is of fundamental importance as it is known that their lack of disinfection and / or sterility often leads to serious health risks. In fact, a large percentage of infectious diseases are of iatrogenic origin, mainly linked to lack of hygiene. These diseases, in addition to obviously causing damage to the patient's health, even leading to death, significantly increase clinical and healthcare costs.
[0008] The vast majority of consumables are disposable and are produced in controlled contexts, in order to avoid contamination. According to Spaulding's classification (1957), relating to the infectious risk associated with the use of medical devices, they are divided into:
[0009] - non-critical: they only come into contact with intact skin (for example basins, thermometers, sphygmomanometers, stethoscopes); low or intermediate level disinfection is required;
[0010] - semi-critical: they come into contact with intact mucous membranes and non-intact skin (for example flexible endoscopes, laryngoscopes, endotracheal tubes); high-level disinfection or sterilization is required;
[0011] - critical: they enter the human body, the blood and normally sterile areas of the body (for example catheters, implants, needles, surgical instruments); Sterilization is required.
[0012] Many of these materials (needles, syringes, gauze, electrodes, catheters etc.) are in sealed packages to prevent contamination.
[0013] Other instruments, generally more expensive and non-disposable, used by healthcare personnel, such as scalpels, forceps, surgical instruments, endoscopes, etc., are each time preliminarily sterilized in particular machines, some of which are quite expensive, bulky and sophisticated.
[0014] However, there are also various instruments that are frequently and commonly used by healthcare personnel (doctors and nurses in the first place), such as stethoscopes, thermometers, and pressure gauges whose sanitation must necessarily take place with frequent and repeated actions, whenever their use is required on different subjects.
[0015] Unfortunately, although the problem of cross- infection (from doctor to patient and from patient to patient via non-disposable medical instruments) is widely known, evident and ascertained on a scientific level, and there is a broad perception of the great effectiveness of meticulous sanitation of such instruments to avoid nosocomial infections, unfortunately there is still little attention on the part of doctors and healthcare workers to carry out systematic acts of sanitizing the instruments between one patient and another. This is often due to reasons of practicality and priority of medical action aimed mainly at patient care and the prompt restoration of his vital functions. Among the instruments for frequent and repeated use, therefore potential vehicles of infections, the stethoscope (also known as phonendoscope or stethophonendoscope), a non-critical device according to the Spaulding classification, is the most common one, at high risk for microbial transmission among a patient and another if not disinfected. The function of the stethoscope, through the contact of its head (or diaphragm) with the different parts of the patient, is to detect the sounds that come from the patient's organs and interpret them in order to determine the physiological or pathological conditions. Often, stethoscopes include two opposing heads, one larger (diaphragm) and the other smaller (bell). The first allows you to hear internal sounds, such as heart sounds, lung sounds and abdominal sounds; the second is used to listen to low-frequency sounds, such as heart murmurs or vascular sounds. The two membranes therefore allow you to listen to a wider range of body sounds to focus on specific frequencies. There are various models of stethoscopes that have different membrane dimensions to better characterize the auscultation of the various types of patients
[0016] (newborns, children and adults). There is ample evidence in the literature that stethoscopes can be a vehicle for cross-infection between one patient and another. In fact, it is rare, although desirable, for a doctor or healthcare professional to disinfect the stethoscope after each visit.
[0017] A fundamental role in the lack of care towards sanitation is the practical difficulty of adequate sanitation / disinfection in the normal operating conditions of the doctor and nurse. The stethoscope is in fact an instrument that the operator typically carries with him during his visits, which are often itinerant.
[0018] Disinfection of stethoscopic membranes can be achieved using disinfectants such as isopropyl alcohol, sodium hypochlorite, and hydrogen peroxide in combination with cotton balls or gauze. These approaches are all chemical in nature and as such require appropriate disposal. Furthermore, considering that such healthcare waste is produced in a healthcare context, it is to be considered special and this causes a higher impact in terms of costs for its disposal compared to municipal waste. Recent data from scientific literature are highlighting a progressive resistance of microbes to disinfectants, like the phenomenon of antibiotic resistance. Such resistance occurs in the face of a selection drive that favors microbial strains in which particular genetic mutations alter the target structures of disinfectants so as to make the microbes less susceptible to the disinfectants themselves; furthermore, resistance genes can be transferred between microorganisms through processes such as genetic transformation, conjugation or transduction.
[0019] An alternative approach to the disinfection of environments and medical instruments is the physical one, particularly determined by UV radiation. This approach is ecological (not producing residues or sub- products to be disposed of), economical, safe (if appropriately controlled), efficient (if the UV systems are appropriately engineered). Furthermore, the action of UV is practically independent of bacterial resistance, as it acts on a physical level by altering the genetic material of the microbes, whatever it may be.
[0020] Another important factor is the amount of UV radiation that reaches the surface to be sanitized. High irradiation efficiency allows to reduce treatment times and homogeneously sanitize the entire surface of the instrument.
[0021] European patent EP 3164161 B1 of the current Applicant has proposed a stethoscope disinfection device which includes a conical surface which can be coupled magnetically or mechanically, by means of a circular crown, to the head of a stethoscope and equipped with one or more LEDs which emit UV-C radiation suitable for disinfecting the head of the stethoscope .
[0022] However, this device presents some drawbacks:
[0023] - despite being a pocket-sized device, its dimensions and weight are such that it is not particularly comfortable when it is worn in the front pocket of the gown, as normally happens, placing the binaural headband around the neck;
[0024] - the magnetic or mechanical attachment system (for example, via bayonet coupling or double thread) of the disinfection device to the head of the stethoscope is arranged on the crown or circular ring nut, which has a fixed size, which requires the use of different ring nuts for stethoscopes that have different head sizes and in any case two different devices in the case of double-headed stethoscopes, one with a larger ring nut and one with a smaller ring nut;
[0025] - despite the fact that the device of EP 3164161 B1 is structured to minimize the surfaces of the stethoscope membrane which remain in the dark with respect to UV-C radiation, small contact areas of the same are still in the shade at the points of support with the supports inside the disinfection cone;
[0026] - the device of EP 3 164 161 B1 is of relatively complex construction, with several, sophisticated and expensive components than the device proposed in the present patent application.
[0027] Summary of the invention
[0028] The aim of the present invention is to provide a device for sanitizing or disinfecting stethoscopes which overcomes the above-mentioned drawbacks and which therefore: has smaller weight and dimensions; is simple, effective and safe in its use; allows automatic sanitation or disinfection, even without a user, in a sufficiently short time to allow the operator to repeat it after each use; is constructively simple and of low cost; is adaptable to the different head sizes of stethoscopes; is decidedly lighter; is easier to couple to the various types of stethoscopes, even being able to remain coupled even after the disinfection process, similar to a lid.
[0029] This aim is achieved by a device for sanitizing or disinfecting stethoscopes as outlined in the attached claims, the definitions of which form an integral part of this description.
[0030] Therefore, subjects of the present invention are:
[0031] 1) a sanitation or disinfection device for a stethoscope comprising a body that houses sanitation / disinfection means, a coupling element for a stethoscope, a containment casing for one or more batteries and a body that includes a structural element equipped with a circular opening having a bottom plane, characterized in that said coupling element is coupled to said body to cover only a portion of the structural element and the circular opening, between said coupling element and said structural element there being a sized spacing for the introduction of a stethoscope head, and in that said coupling element is made of a flexible material;
[0032] 2) a device as in point 1), in which the circular opening comprises an edge comprising at least a portion of a flared shape, in which the portion preferably has an angle of inclination between 20° and 24° with respect to the bottom plane of the circular opening; 3) a device as in point 1) or 2), in which the edge includes in the order, starting from the bottom plane, a vertical portion, perpendicular to the bottom plane, said portion being flared-shaped, and a planar portion, lying on a plane substantially parallel to the bottom plane;
[0033] 4) a device as in point 2) or 3), in which the edge of the circular opening includes wedge-shaped reliefs, arranged at regular distances along the edge and directed radially towards the center of the bottom plane;
[0034] 5) a device as in any one of the points from 1) to 4), in which the bottom surface supports said sanitation / disinfection means, constituted by one or more LEDs configured to emit UV-C radiation, and by electrical connection means, in which preferably the sanitation / disinfection means are a central LED or three LEDs arranged in a triangle;
[0035] 6) a device as in point 5), in which the one or more LEDs are configured to emit radiation with a wavelength between 230 and 300 nm, preferably with a peak of about 265 nm, with an opening angle (or radiation angle) of the light ray between 120° and
[0036] 150°;
[0037] 7) a device as in any one of the points from 1) to 6), wherein the body comprises a flat portion from which an edge, which extends along a circular or elliptical arch greater than 180°, rises perpendicularly, the edge being interrupted in correspondence of a front portion of the body and wherein the coupling element comprises a top surface having an edge in the form of a circular or elliptical arch of extension corresponding to the extension of the edge of the structural element, from said edge in the form of a circular or elliptical arch being extended perpendicularly a curved wall intended to be coupled with the edge, in such a way that between said structural element of the body and said top surface of the coupling element, said space sized for the introduction of a head of a stethoscope through said front portion of the body is defined;
[0038] 8) a device as in any one of pounts 1) to 7), comprising a switch operated by a button coupled with elastic recall means for the activation / deactivation of said sanitation / disinfection means;
[0039] 9) a device as in point 8), wherein a distal tip of the button ends in correspondence to the flared portion of the edge of the circular opening;
[0040] 10) a device as in any one of points from 1) to 9), wherein the body is egg-shaped in plan view; 11) a device as in any one of point from 1) to 10), wherein the containment casing of the one or more batteries comprises a bottom surface from which rises an annular wall, the annular wall being of height such as to allow the containment of one or more batteries, preferably coin batteries;
[0041] 12) a device as in point 11), wherein projections protrude radially inward from the annular wall of the containment casing, which projections comprise through holes, designed to allow the passing through of fixing screws from the containment casing to the body;
[0042] 13) a device as in any one of points from 7) to
[0043] 12), wherein the top surface of the coupling element comprises a front edge corresponding to the front portion of the body and which comprises in its centre a recess in the form of a circular arch, configured for the introduction and the coupling of the stalk connecting the one or two heads of the stethoscope with a binaural arch of the stethoscope;
[0044] 14) a device as in any one of points from 1) to
[0045] 13), wherein said flexible material of said coupling element is selected from a rubber, an elastomer and a silicone elastomer;
[0046] 15) a device as in any one of points from 1) to
[0047] 14), wherein the body and the containment casing are made of an opaque and UV radiation resistant thermoplastic material, optionally comprising one or more biocidal substances, wherein said biocidal substances are preferably selected from: silver, copper, zinc, Triclosan, essential oils (for example oregano oil and Tea Tree oil) and titanium dioxide;
[0048] 16) a device as in any one of points from 1) to
[0049] 15), wherein the power system has an ON / OFF switch, for safety and energy saving reasons;
[0050] 17) a device as in any one of points from 1) to
[0051] 16), comprising a visible light status LED which indicates both the action of disinfection, and the battery power depletion;
[0052] 18) a device as in any one of points from 1) to
[0053] 17), wherein an element of connection to the stethoscope or to the operator's gown is foreseen such as a chain, a grip or the like;
[0054] 19) a device as in any one of points from 1) to
[0055] 18), wherein the bottom plane is coated by a perforated mask in correspondence and co-planar to the UV sources, wherein the perforated mask of the bottom plane is optionally silkscreened with customizable graphical elements, such as logos, names, symbols or similar.
[0056] Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention will emerge more clearly from the description of some embodiments, made below for indicative and non-limiting purposes, with reference to the attached figures.
[0057] Brief description of the drawings
[0058] Figure 1 shows a perspective view of the sanitation or disinfection device according to the invention;
[0059] Figure 2 shows a top plan view of the device in figure 1;
[0060] Figure 3 shows an exploded perspective view of the device in figure 1;
[0061] Figure 4 shows a side view according to section A-A of figure 2;
[0062] Figures 5A and 5B show the device of figure 1, respectively, in the act of inserting the major head TG of a two-headed stethoscope S and with the stethoscope inserted;
[0063] Figures 6A and 6B show the device of figure 1, respectively, in the act of inserting the smaller head TP of a two-headed stethoscope S and with the stethoscope inserted;
[0064] Figure 7 shows an exploded perspective view of some details of the device in figure 1. Detailed description of the invention
[0065] With reference to the figures, the number 1 indicates the sanitation or disinfection device according to the invention as a whole.
[0066] The sanitation or disinfection device 1 comprises a body 2 which houses the sanitation or disinfection means 3, a coupling element 4 for a stethoscope S and a containment casing 5 for a battery.
[0067] As shown in Figures 5A-5B and 6A-6B, in which the stethoscope S is shown without its binaural headband, the stethoscope S includes a larger head, designated as TG, and a smaller head, designated as TP. The two heads TG, TP are connected by a stalk P which in turn connects them with the binaural headband (not shown).
[0068] The body 2 includes a structural element 6 having a circular opening 7. The edge 8 of the circular opening 7 includes at least a portion 9 of a flared shape, preferably having an angle of inclination between 20° and 24° with respect to the bottom plane 10 of the circular opening 7. This inclination is optimal for better irradiation of the surface of the heads TG, TP of the stethoscope by the sanitation or disinfection means 3. In particular embodiments, the edge 8 includes in the order, starting from the bottom plane 10, a vertical portion 8a, perpendicular to the bottom plane 10, the said portion 9 with a flared shape and a flat portion 8b, lying on a plane parallel to the bottom plane 10.
[0069] The edge 8 of the circular opening 7 also includes wedge-shaped ridges 11, arranged at regular distances along the edge 8 and directed radially towards the center of the bottom plane 10, which constitute abutment elements for the head TG, TP of the stethoscope, minimizing the covered surface of the head, which therefore will not receive UV-C radiation, and keeping it at the correct distance from the LEDs. The wedge shape of the ridges 11 allows them to adapt to various head sizes, even in the case of double- headed stethoscopes.
[0070] The bottom plane 10 includes said sanitation or disinfection means 3 which are made up of one or more LEDs 12a configured to emit UV-C radiation and electrical connection means 12b (for example, a PCB).
[0071] It is possible to use a single LED arranged in a central position on the bottom plane 10 or at least three LEDs placed in a triangular configuration as shown in the figures.
[0072] In other particular embodiments, in which there is a single central LED, the bottom plane 10 is replaced by a conical structure with a vertex on the LED.
[0073] The one or more LEDs 12a are preferably configured to emit radiation with a wavelength between 230 and 300 nm, more preferably with a peak of approximately 265 nm with an opening angle (or irradiation angle) of the light beam included between 120° and 150°. In particular, in the case of using a single LED 12a, longer driving currents and / or times will be used; in certain cases, the version that includes three LEDs allows better irradiation and greater energy efficiency, thus prolonging battery life.
[0074] In certain embodiments, the bottom plane 10 is covered with a perforated mask 30, placed at and coplanar with the UV-C LEDs 12a, in which the mask 30 is optionally screen-printed with customizable graphic elements, such as logos, names, symbols and similar.
[0075] From a flat portion 8c of the body 2 an edge 13, which extends along an arc of a circle or ellipse greater than 180°, rises perpendicularly, being interrupted at a front portion 14 of the body 2, which constitutes the insertion portion of a head TG, TP of a stethoscope S.
[0076] In a position substantially opposite to said front portion 14 there is a switch 15, connected to the electrical connection means 12b (figure 7) and activated by a button 16 coupled to elastic recall means 17 (typically, a helical spring). The distal tip 16a of the button 16 ends in correspondence with the flared portion 9 of the edge 8, so as to be activated only when the head TG, TP of the stethoscope S has blocked the circular opening 7 and is therefore in the sanitation / disinfection position. The switch 15 activates the electrical connection means 12b which activate the LEDs 12a, starting the sanitation / disinfection cycle. When the stethoscope S is removed, the button 16 is released and the sanitation / disinfection means are deactivated. This prevents UV-C radiation from accidentally hitting a user's eyes or skin.
[0077] Preferably, the body 2 is ovoidal in plan view, as shown in the figures. This shape allows the size of the device 1 to be optimized as well as making it ergonomic for a good grip. The battery containment casing 5 includes a bottom surface 5a from which an annular wall 5b rises. The annular wall 5b is of such a height as to allow the containment of one or more batteries, which will preferably be button batteries B so as to minimize the weight and bulk of the device 1.
[0078] In the embodiment shown in the figures, projections 18, which include through holes 19, protrude radially inwards from the annular wall 5b of the containment casing 5, the projections 18 being suitable for allowing the passage of screws fixing the containment casing 5 to the body 2 . In other embodiments, however, the containment casing 5 can be coupled to the body 2 by means of a snap, screw or bayonet system (not shown).
[0079] The coupling element 4 is configured to couple, for example by interlocking, with the edge 13 of the body 2 and therefore has a complementary shape with it, typically for its coupling with the internal surface 13a of the edge 13. More specifically, the coupling element 4 comprises a top surface 4a, having a shape similar to a crescent moon in plan view and comprising a circular or elliptical arch-shaped edge 4b with an extension corresponding to that of the edge 13. A curved wall 4c, intended to couple with the edge 13 of the body 2, extends perpendicularly downwards (with reference to the figures) from the circular or elliptical arch-shaped edge 4b.
[0080] The coupling element 4 includes an open portion, i.e. a portion in which the curved wall 4c is interrupted, which corresponds to the front portion 14 of the body 2. In correspondence with this open portion, the top surface 4a includes a front edge 20 which centrally includes a circular arc recess 21, configured for the introduction of the stalk P which connects the one or two heads TG, TP of the stethoscope S with the binaural headband. The coupling of the stethoscope S to the device 1 is thus obtained, since the head TG, TP of the stethoscope S, which has been introduced into the device 1, is pressed onto the circular opening 7 by the top surface 4a of the coupling element 4. Furthermore, the stalk P also hooks elastically inside the recess 21 which also acts as a centering block of the head TG, TP of the stethoscope above the opening 7.
[0081] An essential aspect of the coupling element 4 is the fact that it is made of a flexible material, for example rubber or an elastomer or a silicone elastomer.
[0082] In this way, the coupling element 4 can in fact adapt elastically to various sizes and thicknesses of the head TG, TP of the stethoscope S, and to the stalk P, making the device 1 universal in use.
[0083] In general, the material and geometries in which the body 2 and the containment casing 5 of the device 1 are made prevent the passage of UV-C radiation towards the outside. The material used is opaque thermoplastic and resistant to UV radiation.
[0084] In certain embodiments, to overcome the problem linked to the non-radiation of the surfaces of the stethoscope head that contact the edge 8 or the ridges 11, the plastic material with which the body 2 of the device 1 is made includes biocidal substances. These substances can be added directly into the thermoplastic material before its moulding.
[0085] By way of example, various substances can be used for this purpose, of which a non-exhaustive list is given below: Silver, Copper, Zinc, Triclosan, essential oils (for example oregano oil and tea tree oil), or, for surfaces exposed to light, Titanium dioxide which acts photocatalytically. For example, the Zeomic® product from the Sinanen Zeomic Co., Ltd. company, based on zeolites and Ag+ions, could be used. The operation of the device 1 according to the invention is evident from what has been described above, also in relation to figures 5A-5B or 6A-6B. The medical-healthcare operator, once a visit has been completed, will be able to couple the head TG, TP of the stethoscope to the device 1 in a simple and immediate way, inserting the head of the stethoscope into the opening defined between the front portion 14 of the body 2 and the front edge 20 of the coupling element 4. When the head TG, TP of the stethoscope S comes to rest and presses the button 16 of the switch 15, the LEDs 12a are activated and the sanitizing / disinfecting action begins which can optionally be displayed by a status LED (not shown). However, when the stethoscope S is separated from the device 1, the button 16 returns to its initial position and the LEDs are deactivated.
[0086] For further safety and energy saving purposes, there may be a general switch to turn the device on and off (not shown).
[0087] Although the embodiment described in relation to the figures is extremely versatile and economical, more sophisticated versions can be created, in which for example: - the battery is rechargeable;
[0088] - the activation and deactivation of the sanitisation / disinfection means is controlled by a command and control unit which provides specific sanitisation / disinfection cycles with different power and / or duration;
[0089] - the activation / deactivation of the LEDs is operated via wireless systems, for example by command with a smartphone.
[0090] In certain embodiments, the device 1 can emit an acoustic, light or vibratory signal to signal the end of the sanitation / disinfection cycle.
[0091] In certain other embodiments, a disinfection cycle counter and / or a battery charge level indicator may be provided.
[0092] The ovoidal or arched shape, although preferred for reasons of size and aesthetics, is not the only one that can be used. The device 1 may also have a square, rectangular or polygonal shape, without altering its technical functions.
[0093] The advantages of the sanitation or disinfection device 1 according to the invention are evident . First of all, the device 1, in particular thanks to the coupling element 4 in flexible material, is of a universal type and allows to also couple heads of different sizes of stethoscopes as well as manage the two different types of heads.
[0094] Device 1 also has minimal weight and bulk and has a limited cost, especially in the version with a single LED, which allows it to be coupled to the head of the stethoscope as if it were a simple cover, so that the stethoscope can be transported in the usual way, that is, with the binaural headband around the neck.
[0095] Device 1 allows to use higher power LEDs to achieve 99.99% disinfection levels in just a few seconds.
[0096] It is evident that only some particular embodiments of the present invention have been described, to which the expert in the art will be able to make all those modifications necessary for its adaptation to particular applications, without however departing from the scope of protection of the present invention as defined in the attached claims.
Claims
CLAIMS1. A stethoscope (S) sanitation or disinfection device (1) comprising a body (2) which houses sanitation / disinfection means (3), a coupling element(4) for a stethoscope (S) and a containment casing (5) for one or more batteries, wherein the body (2) comprises a structural element (6) comprising a circular opening (7) having a bottom plane (10), characterized in that said coupling element (4) is coupled with said body (2) to cover only a portion of the structural element (6) and of the circular opening (7), between said coupling element (4) and said structural element (6) being there a space sized for the introduction of a head (TG, TP) of said stethoscope(5), and by the fact that said coupling element (4) is made of a flexible material.
2. The device (1) according to claim 1, wherein the circular opening (7) comprises an edge (8) comprising at least one flared portion (9), wherein the portion (9) has preferably a tilt angle comprised between 20° and 24° with respect to the bottom plane (10) of the circular opening (7).
3. The device (1) according to claim 1 or 2,wherein the edge (8) comprises in the order, starting from the bottom plane (10), a vertical portion (8a), perpendicular to the bottom plane (10), said flared portion (9) and a flat portion (8b), lying on a plane essentially parallel to the bottom plane (10).
4. The device (1) according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the edge (8) of the circular opening (7) comprises some wedge-shaped ridges (11), arranged at regular distances along the edge (8) and directed radially towards the centre of the bottom plane (10).
5. The device (1) according to any one of claims from 1 to 4, wherein the bottom plane (10) comprises said sanitation / disinfection means (3), consisting of one or more LEDs (12a) configured to emit a UV-C radiation, and means of electrical connection (12b), wherein the sanitation / disinf ection means (3) preferably comprise a central LED or three LEDs arranged in a triangle.
6. The device (1) according to claim 5, wherein the one or more LED(s) (12a) are configured to emit a radiation of wavelength within 230 and 300 nm, preferably with peak at about 265 nm, with a beam angle(or irradiation angle) of the light beam comprised between 120° and 150°.
7. The device (1) according to any one of claims from 1 to 6, wherein the body (2) comprises a flat portion (8c) from which an edge (13), which extends along a circular or elliptical arch greater than 180°, rises perpendicularly, the edge (13) being interrupted in correspondence of a front portion (14) of the body (2) and wherein the coupling element (4) comprises a top surface (4a) having an edge in the form of a circular or elliptical arch (4b) of extension corresponding to the extension of the edge (13) of the structural element (6), from said edge in the form of a circular or elliptical arch (4b) being extended perpendicularly a curved wall (4c) intended to be coupled with the edge (13), in such a way that between said structural element (6) of the body (2) and said top surface (4a) of the coupling element (4), said space sized for the introduction of a head of a stethoscope through said front portion (14) of the body (2) is defined.
8. The device (1) according to any one of claimsfrom 1 to 7, comprising a switch (15) operated by a button (16) coupled with elastic recall means (17) for the activation / deactivation of said sanitation / disinfection means (3).
9. The device (1) according to claim 8, wherein a distal tip (16a) of the button (16) ends in correspondence to the flared portion (9) of the edge (8) of the circular opening (7).
10. The device (1) according to any one of claims from 1 to 9, wherein the body (2) is egg-shaped in plan view.
11. The device (1) according to any one of claims from 1 to 10, wherein the containment casing (5) of the one or more batteries comprises a bottom surface (5a) from which rises an annular wall (5b), the annular wall (5b) being of height such as to allow the containment of one or more batteries, preferably coin batteries.
12. The device (1) according to claim 11, wherein projections (18) protrude radially inward from the annular wall (5b) of the containment casing (5), which projections (18) comprise through holes (19), designedto allow the passing through of fixing screws from the containment casing (5) to the body (2).
13. The device (1) according to any one of claims 7 to 12, wherein the top surface (4a) of the coupling element (4) comprises a front edge (20) corresponding to the front portion (14) of the body (2) and which comprises in its centre a recess (21) in the form of a circular arch, configured for the introduction and the coupling of the stalk (P) connecting the one or two heads (TG, TP) of the stethoscope (S) with a binaural arch of the stethoscope.
14. The device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein said flexible material of said coupling element (4) is selected from a rubber, an elastomer and a silicone elastomer.
15. The device (1) according to any one of claims from 1 to 14, wherein the body (2) and the containment casing (5) are made of an opaque and UV radiation resistant thermoplastic material, optionally comprising one or more biocidal substances, wherein said biocidal substances are preferably selected from: silver, copper, zinc, Triclosan, essential oils (forexample oregano oil and Tea Tree oil) and titanium dioxide.
16. The device (1) according to any one of claims from 1 to 15, wherein the power system has an ON / OFF switch.
17. The device (1) according to any one of claims from 1 to 16, comprising a visible light status LED which indicates both the action of disinfection, and the battery power depletion.
18. The device (1) according to any one of claims from 1 to 17, wherein an element of connection to the stethoscope (S) or to the operator's gown is foreseen such as a chain, a grip or the like.
19. The device according to any one of claims from 1 to 18, wherein the bottom plane (10) is coated by a perforated mask (30) in correspondence and co- planar to the UV sources, wherein the perforated mask (30) of the bottom plane is optionally silkscreened with customizable graphical elements, such as logos, names, symbols or similar.