Washer and decontaminator with lid control
A method and apparatus provide for automatically cleaning and decontaminating medical instruments. The method comprising the steps of: a) placing the medical instruments into a container after their use in a medical procedure; b) closing the container to seal the instruments inside whereby to prevent personnel contact with the instruments and any contaminants which might be thereon; c) inserting the sealed container into a washer/decontaminator and sealing the washer/decontaminator; d) the washer/decontaminator automatically opening the container and applying a washing fluid thereto to wash the instruments within the container; and e) the washer/decontaminator automatically applying a disinfectant to the container to disinfect the instruments whereby to allow safe handling thereof by personnel.
1. A method of automatically cleaning and disinfecting at least one medical instrument in a sealed container, the method comprising:
inserting the sealed container comprising at least one medical instrument into a chamber for cleaning and disinfecting the at least one medical instrument;
sealing the chamber;
automatically removing at least a portion of at least one of a lid and a bottom of the container by engaging at least one of the lid and the bottom with an opening means of the chamber;
applying a cleaning solution to clean the at least one medical instrument within the container; and
applying a disinfectant to disinfect the at least one medical instrument within the container.
2. The method according to claim 1 wherein the medical instrument is disinfected to a sterility assurance level (SAL) of 10 −2 .
3. The method according to claim 1 wherein the medical instrument is disinfected to a sterility assurance level of 10 −3 by measuring against b. stearothermophilus.
4. The method according to claim 1 wherein the medical instrument is disinfected to a sterility assurance level of 10 −4 by measuring against b. stearothermophilus.
5. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising closing at least the portion of at least one of the lid and the bottom of the container.
6. The method according to claim 1 further comprising applying agitation to the cleaning solution.
7. The method according to claim 1 wherein the lid and the bottom of the container are removed.
8. The method according to claim 1 further comprising removing lateral sides of the container.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one of the lid and the bottom of the container further comprises a hinge.
10. The method according to claim 2 wherein the SAL is measured against b. stearothermophilus.
11. The method according to claim 2 wherein the SAL is measured against hepatitis C.
12. The method according to claim 6 wherein the agitation is ultrasonic.
13. The method according to claim 8 wherein the container comprises a basket and the basket is exposed to the cleaning solution.
14. A method of automatically cleaning and disinfecting at least one medical instrument in a sealed container, the method comprising:
inserting the sealed container comprising at least one medical instrument into a chamber for cleaning and disinfecting the at least one medical instrument;
sealing the chamber;
automatically removing at least a portion of the container by engaging at least one bracket from the container with an opening means of the chamber;
applying a cleaning solution to clean the at least one medical instruments within the container; and
applying a disinfectant to disinfect the at least one medical instruments within the container.
15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the opening means is controlled by a computer.
16. A method of automatically cleaning and disinfecting at least one medical instrument in a sealed container, the method comprising:
inserting the sealed container comprising at least one medical instrument into a chamber for cleaning and disinfecting the at least one medical instrument;
sealing the chamber;
automatically removing at least a portion of at least one of a lid and a bottom of the container by engaging at least one bracket on at least one of the lid and the bottom of the container with an opening means of the chamber;
applying a cleaning solution to clean the at least one medical instruments within the container; and
applying a disinfectant to disinfect the at least one medical instruments within the container.
17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the opening means is controlled by a computer.