Granted Patent B2

US 12,629,442 · App. 17/804,402 · Granted May 19, 2026

Inventors: Kurt Michael Maw (Salem, MA); Ashley James Nye Legg (Newton, MA); Robert Wilkins (Peterborough, NH); Robert A. Charles (New Boston, NH); Alex Chaves (Hudson, NH); James Knight (Windham, NH)

Assignee: SOCLEAN, INC.

A61L2/26A61L2/202A61L2/24A61M16/0816A61M16/0875A61L2202/11A61L2202/14A61L2202/15A61L2202/24A61M2202/0208A61M2209/10

Abstract

Claims (36)

1 . A sanitization system, comprising:

a base comprising a sanitizing chamber, the sanitizing chamber comprising at least one exhaust port;

a sanitizing gas generator configured to supply ozone gas and to fluidly couple to the sanitizing chamber;

a primary fan or pump configured to push or draw at least a portion of said ozone gas from the sanitizing gas generator to the sanitizing chamber; and

a secondary fan or pump configured to push or draw at least a portion of said ozone gas through the at least one exhaust port; and

a controller configured to cause the sanitization system to perform a sanitization operation on at least one component of a medical device, wherein said sanitizing operation comprises:

performing a plurality of disinfection cycles, each of said plurality of disinfection cycles comprising:

during a pulse period, simultaneously supplying said ozone gas with said sanitizing gas generator while operating both said primary fan or pump and said secondary fan or pump; and

conducting a dwell operation after the pulse period, the dwell operation comprising discontinuing supply of said ozone gas while continuing to operate both said primary fan or pump and said secondary fan or pump for a dwell time; and

performing a purge, wherein a length of said purge is sufficient to convert substantially all ozone gas within said sanitizing system to breathable gas.

2 . The sanitization system of claim 1 , wherein said sanitization operation is configured to reduce the amount of bacteria on the surface of said at least one component by at least 99.99%.

3 . The sanitization system of claim 1 , wherein said at least one component is a component of a positive airway pressure device.

4 . The sanitization system of claim 1 , wherein said at least one component is a reservoir of a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device, a hose of a CPAP device, a mask of a CPAP device, or a combination thereof.

5 . The sanitization system of claim 1 , wherein said controller is configured to cause said sanitization system to perform a humidity adjustment operation prior to said sanitization operation, said humidity adjustment operation configured to adjust a relative humidity of air circulated by said sanitization system.

6 . The sanitization system of claim 5 , wherein said humidity adjustment operation comprises operating said primary fan or pump, said secondary fan or pump, or both said primary and secondary fan or pump while said sanitizing gas generator is not supplying said ozone gas.

7 . The sanitization system of claim 5 , wherein said humidity adjustment operation comprises causing said sanitization system to flow air over or through water in a reservoir to adjust the humidity thereof.

8 . The sanitization system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to cause the sanitization system to perform a sanitizing gas priming operation before said sanitizing operation, said sanitizing gas priming operation comprising continuously supplying said ozone gas with said sanitizing gas generator for a first time period.

9 . The sanitization system of claim 1 , wherein said system is configured such that less or equal to than 0.1 parts per million of said ozone gas leaks from said system or said medical device during said sanitizing operation.

10 . The sanitization system of claim 9 , wherein said system is configured such that less than or equal to 0.05 parts per million of said ozone gas leaks from said system or said medical device during said sanitizing operation.

11 . The sanitization system of claim 1 , wherein said system is configured such that less than or equal to 0.1 parts per million of said ozone gas leaks from said system or said medical device during said sanitizing operation.

12 . The sanitization system of claim 11 , wherein said system is configured such that less than or equal to 0.05 parts per million of said ozone gas leaks from said system or said medical device during said sanitizing operation.

13 . The sanitization system of claim 1 , further comprising a connector unit that is configured to fluidly couple the sanitizing gas generator to a medical device.

14 . The sanitization system of claim 13 , further comprising a distribution line configured to fluidly couple the connector unit to the sanitizing gas generator.

15 . A method of sanitizing at least a portion of a medical device with a sanitization system comprising a base comprising a sanitizing chamber, a sanitizing gas generator, a primary fan or pump, a secondary fan or pump, and a controller, the method comprising:

with the controller:

causing the sanitization system to perform a sanitizing operation, the sanitizing operation comprising:

performing a plurality of disinfection cycles, each of said plurality of disinfection cycles comprising:

during a pulse period, simultaneously supplying ozone gas with said sanitizing gas generating while operating both the primary fan or pump and the secondary fan or pump; and

conducting a dwell operation after the pulse period, the dwell operation comprising discontinuing supply of said ozone gas while continuing to operate both said primary fan or pump and said secondary fan or pump for a dwell time; and

performing a purge, wherein a length of said purge is sufficient to convert substantially all ozone gas within said sanitizing system to breathable gas.

16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein said sanitizing operation is configured to reduce an amount of bacteria on a surface of a medical device component within said chamber by at least 99%.

17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein said sanitizing operation is configured to reduce an amount of bacteria on a surface of a medical device component within said chamber by at least 99.99%.

18 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising, with said controller:

causing said sanitization system to perform a sanitizing gas priming operation before said sanitizing operation, the sanitizing gas priming operation comprising continuously supplying said ozone gas with said sanitizing gas generator for a first time period.

19 . The method of claim 15 , wherein less than or equal to 0.1 parts per million (PPM) of said ozone gas leaks from said sanitization system or said medical device during said sanitizing operation.

20 . The method of claim 19 , wherein less than or equal to 0.05 parts per million (PPM) of said ozone gas leaks from said sanitization system or said medical device during said sanitizing operation.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (7)

References Cited (335)