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EP-3426180-B1 - DEVICE FOR SUSPENDING ONE OR MORE MEDICAL INSTRUMENTS, SUCH AS A DRYING CABINET FOR ENDOSCOPES AND HOLDING SYSTEM FOR SUSPENDING ONE OR MORE MEDICAL INSTRUMENTS

EP3426180B1EP 3426180 B1EP3426180 B1EP 3426180B1EP-3426180-B1

Inventors

  • HET LAM, Jan Willem
  • VAN OPSTAL, EDWIN PETRUS ELISABETH
  • DE KONING, Maurits Sybrandus Augustinus
  • KORTSTRA, JAN ROELOF ABEL

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20170307

Claims (15)

  1. Holding system (10) for suspending one or more medical instruments (2) in a closable space (3) adapted therefore, the closable space being part of a drying cabinet (1) for endoscopes, the holding system comprising: - a holder (4) for holding at least one medical instrument; and - at least one retaining element (5) connected to the holder for retaining at least one medical instrument to the holder, the holding system further comprises a spacer (20), wherein: - a first end of the spacer is connected to the holder; and - a second end of the spacer is provided with a hinge system (9) for hingedly connecting the spacer to a back wall (14) of the closable space, wherein the at least one retaining element is configured to clampingly receiving the at least one medical instrument to be suspended characterized in that the hinge system is configured to automatically move the holder from a predefined position of the holder in an upward direction toward the back wall, and in that the spacer is provided with four guiding elements (8) for guiding the suspending part of the medical instrument received by the holder along the guiding elements, wherein the guiding elements are positioned on the spacer according to a zigzag-pattern, wherein the guiding elements are positioned such that a bending radius of the flexible suspended part of the medical instrument received by the holder is not smaller than 4 centimetre.
  2. Holding system according to claim 1, characterized in that the medical instrument to be suspended comprises a control body and wherein the at least one retaining element is configured to retain the control body to the holder and/or in that the at least one retaining element comprises a ring-shaped passage opening for receiving the control body of the medical instrument to be suspended, wherein preferably the peripheral wall of the ring-shaped passage opening is provided with an opening for receiving another part of the medical instrument connected to the control body, such as the flexible part of an endoscope.
  3. Holding system according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the hinge system is configured to damp a downward movement of the holder in a direction facing away from the back wall.
  4. Holding system according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the holder is provided with two or more retaining element for receiving not more than two medical instruments.
  5. Holding system according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the guiding elements are positioned such that the bending radius of the flexible suspended part of the medical instrument received by the holder is not smaller than 6 centimetre, preferably not smaller than 8 centimetre, and/or in that the guiding elements are positioned at vertices so that the angle of the vertices is [45 , 65]º, preferably [50 , 60]º, more preferably about 55º.
  6. Holding system according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the distance between the first end and the second end of the spacer is [50 , 90] centimetre, preferably [60 , 80] centimetre, more preferably about 70 centimetre, and/or in that the at least one retaining element is configured such that the angle between the spacer and the control body of a medical instrument to be suspended received by the at least one retaining element is [30 , 80]º, preferably [50 , 70]º, more preferably about 60º.
  7. Drying cabinet (1) for endoscopes, comprising: - a closable space (3) for receiving one or more medical instruments (2) to be suspended; - a plurality of holding systems (10) according to claims 1-6 positioned in the closable space, and - a control system (30) comprising an identification system (31) configured for identifying the holders, wherein the at least one retaining element of each holder is provided with at least one identification means (34) connected to the identification system, wherein the identification means is configured to identify the retaining element of the respective holder.
  8. Drying cabinet for endoscopes according to claim 7, characterized in that the second end of the spacer is connected to the back wall of the closable space at a height of [90 , 170] centimetre, preferably at a height of [110 , 150] centimetre, more preferably at a height of about 125 centimetre, and/or characterized in that the hinge system is configured such that the angle between the spacer and the back wall of the closable space does not exceed 90º, preferably does not exceed 85º, more preferably does not exceed 80º.
  9. Drying cabinet for endoscopes according to any of the claims 7-8, characterized in that the hinged system is configured such that the angle between the spacer and the back wall of the closable space is at least 0º, preferably at least 4º, more preferably at least 8º, and/or in that the at least one retaining element of each of the holder is configured such that the angle between the back wall of the closable space and a control body of a medical instrument suspended in the closable space received by the at least one retaining element is [40 , 70]º, preferably [50 , 60]º, more preferably about 55º.
  10. Drying cabinet for endoscopes according to any of the claims 7-9, characterized in that the hinge systems of the plurality of holders positioned in the closable space are connected to the back wall according to a wavy pattern.
  11. Drying cabinet for endoscopes according to any of claims 7-10, characterized in that the at least one retaining element comprises a bracket, wherein preferably the bracket is configured to clampingly or releasably receiving a medical instrument to be suspended.
  12. Drying cabinet for endoscopes according to any of the claims 7-11, characterized in that the at least one identification means comprises a visual identification means for identifying by means of visual indication the retaining element of the respective holder, wherein preferably the at least one identification means comprises a light source, such as one or more LED lamps, wherein preferably the light source is arranged on or in the holder and positioned such that the light source illuminates the retaining element, wherein in particular the light source is arranged on the position the retaining element is connected to the respective holder, wherein for instance the retaining element illuminated by the light source is made from light-guiding material which may comprise a semi-transparent plastic, such as polypropylene, such as an illuminating material.
  13. Drying cabinet for endoscopes according to any of the claims 7-12, characterized in that the holders are displaceable relative to each other, and/or in that the at least one identification means is positioned such that by displacement of the holder, the position of the identification means relative to the retaining element is unchanged.
  14. Drying cabinet for endoscopes according to any of the claims 7-13, characterized in that wherein the medical instrument to be suspended comprises an endoscope and/or in that the closable space comprises a drying space .
  15. Drying cabinet for endoscopes according to any of the claims 7-14, characterized in that the control system further comprises a status indication system for displaying the status of a medical instrument connected with a holder, wherein in particular the status indication system is connected to the at least one identification means for displaying the status of the medical instrument connected with the respective holder.

Description

The present invention relates to a device for suspending one or more medical instruments, such as a drying cabinet for endoscopes. The present invention further relates to a holding system for suspending one or more medical instruments in a closable space adapted therefore, such as a drying cabinet for endoscopes. Devices for suspending medical instruments, such as a drying cabinet for endoscopes, are well known. Such devices, see examples in the prior art documents JP 2010 119514 A, US 2010/191049 A1, US 2015/154434 A1 or US 2015/077249 A1, are configured to suspend medical instruments wherein the medical instruments are suspended in the device by human interaction, i.e. by an operator involved in the process of washing and drying medical instruments, such as endoscopes. Due to the lengthy flexible part of, for example, endoscopes, the holders for holding the endoscopes to be suspended are located at a predefined height to prevent contact of the distal end of the flexible part of an endoscope with the base of the device the endoscope is suspended in. Unfortunately, the height of the holders for suspending the medical instruments is chosen such that the operator has to work over his head, i.e. connecting the medical instrument to be suspended to the device. Consequently, the devices for suspending medical instruments available on the market nowadays are not ergonomically designed. Further, it is of utmost importance that the operator is able to connect the identified medical instrument to be suspended with the correct available holder identified by the device. Several identification systems have been described in the prior art, however, the identification systems described have shortcomings with regard to reproducibility of the safety of the system. To overcome the above-identified shortcomings of the devices currently available, the present invention, defined in the appended claims 1-15, provides hereto a device for suspending one or more medical instruments, such as a drying cabinet for endoscopes, comprising a closable space for receiving one or more medical instruments to be suspended, a plurality of holders positioned in the closable space, wherein each of the holders is configured to hold one or more medical instruments, and wherein each of the holders is provided with at least one retaining element for holding a medical instrument to be suspended and a control system comprising an identification system configured for identifying the holders. In order to improve the reproducibility of the safety of the device according to the present invention, the at least one retaining element of each holder is provided with at least one identification means connected to the identification system, wherein the identification means is configured to identify the retaining element of the respective holder. By providing identification means which are able to identify the retaining element of a respective holder, the incorrect connection of a medical instrument to be suspended is reduced to the absolute minimum. Where the identification systems described in the prior art provide identification of the respective holders, the present invention further identifies the specific retaining elements the medical instrument is actually connected to, once received by the respective holder. By identifying the retaining element instead of the holder a retaining element is connected with, the operator is able to identify the correct position the medical instrument to be suspended has to be connected with. The at least one retaining element is configured to retain the control body of a medical instrument to be suspended to the holder. By providing a retaining element configured to retain the control body coupling of the control body to the holder is facilitated in an easy and reproducible way. In order to improve the reproducibility and safety of the coupling of a medical instrument, e.g. the control body of an endoscope, to the device of the present invention, the retaining element may comprise a bracket. The bracket may be configured to clampingly or releasably receiving a medical instrument to be suspended. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the at least one retaining element comprises a ring-shaped passage opening for receiving the control body of the medical instrument to be suspended. The control body of the medical instrument may be slid into the passage opening. Due to the fact that the control body of the medical instrument to be suspended is typically connected to another, more lengthy, flexible part of the medical instrument, the peripheral wall of the ring-shaped passage opening is provided with an opening for receiving such other part of the medical instrument connected to the control body, such as the flexible part of an endoscope. The identification means of the present invention may include various types of identification means. Preferably, the at least one identification means comprises a visual identif