Systems and methods of plasma-disinfecting a channel by direct plasma

1 . A disinfection system for plasma-disinfecting an interior surface of a channel of a surgical device having a conductive circumscribing sleeve surrounding the channel, said disinfection system comprising:

i. a pair of spaced-apart electrodes located on opposite sides of a wall of the channel, said spaced-apart electrodes comprising an elongate discharge electrode configured to apply an ionizing electric field radially and over a lengthwise majority of the elongate discharge electrode;

ii. a gas-sealable enclosure having a gas-sealable opening sized to receive the surgical device and one or more gas-tight utility ports spanning a wall of the gas-sealable enclosure, said one or more gas-tight utility ports adapted to:

a. fluidly connect between a negative pressure source on an outside of said enclosure and an end of the channel on the inside; and

b. electrically couple between a power source on the outside of said enclosure and the pair of spaced-apart electrodes on the inside of said enclosure; and

iii. a controller configured, when a combination of (a) the gas-sealable enclosure, (b) the pair of spaced-apart electrodes, and (c) the channel are in a ready-to-ignite-plasma state, to electrically ignite at least some ambient air to form plasma, so as to disinfect the interior surface of the channel.

2 . The disinfection system of claim 1 , wherein;

the elongate discharge electrode has a dielectric exterior, and

the pair of spaced-apart electrodes located on opposite sides of the channel wall further comprises a collecting electrode adapted to be electrically associated with the conductive circumscribing sleeve of the surgical device.

3 . The disinfection system of claim 2 , wherein the ready-to-ignite-plasma state requires all of the following:

at least a section of the elongate discharge electrode is disposed within the channel of the surgical device so that the elongate discharge electrode coaxially spans at least a lengthwise majority of the channel to define an annular region within the channel;

the collecting electrode is electrically coupled to the conductive circumscribing sleeve of the surgical device;

the gas-sealable enclosure is gas-sealed, the negative pressure source is connected to one of said one or more gas-tight utility ports and is activated such that said annular region is maintained at a sub-atmospheric pressure.

4 . The disinfection system of claim 2 , wherein the collecting electrode is adapted to be electrically coupled to a port of an endoscope which is electrically associated with the conductive circumscribing sleeve.

5 . The disinfection system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to control the pressure source coupled to the channel to intermittently apply a negative pressure to the channel.

6 . The disinfection system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more gas-tight utility ports spanning the wall of the gas-sealable enclosure are organized on a single adapter.

7 . The disinfection system of claim 1 , further comprising a collection chamber associated with the gas-sealable enclosure and configured to receive liquid residue upon application of negative pressure prior to formation of the plasma.

8 . The disinfection system of claim 1 , wherein the elongate discharge electrode has a length of more than 0.75, 1 or 1.5 meter.

9 . The disinfection system of claim 1 , wherein the elongate discharge electrode is configured to drive a radial electric field towards the conductive circumscribing sleeve of the surgical device.

10 . The disinfection system of claim 1 , wherein the elongate discharge electrode further includes a dielectric outer surface.

11 . The disinfection system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to activate the power source for a time period sufficient to reduce contamination on the interior surface of the channel.

12 . The disinfection system of claim 1 , further comprising an air inlet for enabling passive entry of air.

13 . The disinfection system of claim 1 , wherein the gas-sealable enclosure further comprises a pressure relief valve extending through the wall of the gas-sealable enclosure, the pressure relief valve being configured to allow air or gas to flow into or out of the gas-sealable enclosure.

14 . The disinfection system of claim 1 , wherein the gas-sealable enclosure further comprises one or more plasma exhaust ports extending through the wall of the gas-sealable enclosure, the one or more plasma exhaust ports being configured to release residual waste.

15 . The disinfection system of claim 1 , further comprising an exhaust port extending through the wall of the gas-sealable enclosure, the exhaust port being associated with a filter or a collection canister, said filter or said collection canister being configured to collect residual by products of the disinfection treatment or of a previous cleaning process.

16 . The disinfection system of claim 1 , wherein the gas-sealable enclosure is configured for multiple use.

17 . The disinfection system of claim 1 , wherein the gas-sealable enclosure is configured for a single use.

18 . The disinfection system of claim 17 , wherein the gas-sealable enclosure is flexible.

19 . The disinfection system of claim 1 , further comprising:

(i) an inserting-means for at least partially inserting an elongated discharge electrode into the channel so that the elongate discharge electrode coaxially spans at least a lengthwise majority of the channel to define an annular region within the channel; or

(ii) a detecting means for detecting if the elongated discharge electrode is at least partially disposed within the channel.

20 . The disinfection system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to electrically ignite at least some of the ambient air to form the plasma directly within the surgical device.