US-12616768-B2 - Endoscope decontamination rack

Abstract

A decontamination rack is particularly suitable for decontaminating medical devices, such as endoscopes, for being designed to minimize shadowed surface area. The decontamination rack may be provided with internal channels through which a decontamination fluid may be supplied to the locations where a device contacts decontamination rack. These locations may comprise receiving areas having ejection ports with flexible nozzles disposed therein. The device may be disposed atop the nozzles such that the decontamination fluid exits the nozzles to impinge directly on those portions of the device that rest upon the nozzles. The use of the decontamination rack promotes improved or complete coverage of exposed external surfaces of the device with the decontamination fluid because decontamination fluid may be ejected into the receiving area to lift the device at the shadowed surface.

Inventors

• Alan Jefferson KENDRICK

Assignees

• ASP GLOBAL MANUFACTURING GMBH

Dates

Publication Date

20260505

Application Date

20201124

Claims (18)

1. 1 . A decontamination rack, comprising: a central portion comprising a fluid inlet; an extension portion, extending from the central portion, including a first receiving area and a second receiving area, the first and second receiving areas having different numbers of fluid ejection ports as well as different shapes to receive different parts of a device to be decontaminated; and a fluid pathway fluidly connecting the fluid inlet to the fluid ejection ports at the first and second receiving areas.
2. 2 . The decontamination rack of claim 1 , in which a first number of fluid ejection ports are located in a lowermost area of the first receiving area, or at least one ejection port is located in a lowermost area of the second receiving area.
3. 3 . The decontamination rack of claim 1 , in which second receiving area comprises a curved portion to receive a tubular section of the device to be decontaminated.
4. 4 . The decontamination rack of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of fluid nozzles located in each of the fluid ejection ports.
5. 5 . The decontamination rack of claim 4 , in which a portion of each fluid nozzle of the plurality of fluid nozzles extends vertically above a surface of the first or second receiving area.
6. 6 . The decontamination rack of claim 4 , in which the plurality of fluid nozzles are configured to expel decontamination fluid with sufficient force to lift at least a portion of the device from the first or second receiving area.
7. 7 . The decontamination rack of claim 1 , further comprising: a plurality of extension portions, extending radially from the central portion.
8. 8 . The decontamination rack of claim 7 , in which the plurality of extension portions are arranged symmetrically around the central portion.
9. 9 . The decontamination rack of claim 8 , in which the fluid pathway comprises a plurality of pathway sections such that each of the plurality of pathway sections extends into one of the plurality of extension portions.
10. 10 . The decontamination rack of claim 9 , in which the plurality of extension portions comprises a plurality of receiving areas arranged to facilitate coiling of tubular sections of the device.
11. 11 . The decontamination rack of claim 1 , in which the first and second receiving areas are arranged along a longitudinal direction of the extension portion.
12. 12 . The decontamination rack of claim 1 , in which the first and second receiving areas on the extension portion have a different distance from the central portion.
13. 13 . The decontamination rack of claim 1 , in which the device is an endoscope, and the first receiving area has a shape suitable for supporting a control portion of the endoscope.
14. 14 . The decontamination rack of claim 4 , in which a first fluid nozzle of the plurality of fluid nozzles includes a first aperture having a first cross-sectional area and a second fluid nozzle of the plurality of fluid nozzles includes a second aperture having a second cross-sectional area that is different than the first cross-sectional area.
15. 15 . A decontamination system, comprising: a tray; and the decontamination rack of claim 1 disposed in the tray, in which the fluid inlet is connected to a source of decontamination fluid.
16. 16 . The decontamination system of claim 15 , in which the decontamination rack is configured to use the first receiving area to receive a control portion of an endoscope and use the second receiving area to receive a tubular portion of the endoscope.
17. 17 . A method of decontaminating an instrument, comprising: receiving a non-tubular section of the instrument at a first receiving area of a decontamination rack; receiving a tubular section of the instrument at a second receiving area of the decontamination rack; and ejecting decontamination fluid through respective fluid ejection ports of the first or second receiving areas such that the decontamination fluid contacts the instrument.
18. 18 . The method of claim 17 , in which the ejecting comprises ejecting the decontamination fluid with sufficient pressure to lift at least a part of the instrument away from the first or second receiving area.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application is a U.S. National Phase Application of International Application No. PCT/IB2020/061058, filed Nov. 24, 2020, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/948,168, filed Dec. 13, 2019. The entire contents of these applications are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. FIELD The subject matter disclosed herein relates to decontamination systems, particularly decontamination systems for decontaminating medical instruments. BACKGROUND Endoscopes are reusable medical devices. An endoscope should be reprocessed, i.e., cleaned and decontaminated, between medical procedures in which it is used to avoid causing infection or illness in a subject. Endoscopes are difficult to decontaminate as has been documented in various news stories. See, e.g., Chad Terhune, “Superbug outbreak: UCLA will test new scope-cleaning machine,” LA Times, Jul. 22, 2015, http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ucla-superbug-scope-testing-20150722-story.html (last visited Oct. 30, 2017). One difficulty for reprocessing an endoscope arises when an endoscope must be coiled to fit into a decontamination system. Those portions of the endoscope that touch other portions of the endoscope or other materials within the sterilization chamber (e.g., a sterilization tray in which it is placed, a wall of the chamber, impermeable portions of a sterilization pouch) may be referred to as “shadowed surfaces.” Shadowed surfaces are difficult to clean and decontaminate relative to exposed, i.e., non-shadowed, surfaces because it is more difficult to contact the shadowed surfaces with cleaning and disinfectant solutions. SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE A decontamination rack may be used to decontaminate (e.g., sterilize or disinfect) medical devices, including those that have channels or lumens formed therethrough, such as endoscopes. The decontamination rack may fit a particular reprocessing tray design or universal processing trays. The decontamination rack may be designed to allow a tubular medical device, such as an endoscope, to be laid out such that shadowing may be minimized once the endoscope is disposed in the rack. The decontamination rack may be provided with internal channels through which a decontamination fluid may be supplied to the locations where the device contacts decontamination rack. These locations may comprise receiving areas having ejection ports with flexible nozzles disposed therein. The device may be disposed atop the nozzles such that the decontamination fluid exits the nozzles to impinge directly on those portions of the device that rest upon the nozzles. The use of the decontamination rack promotes improved or complete coverage of exposed external surfaces of the device with the decontamination fluid. The decontamination rack may include a central portion and a first extension portion extending from the central portion. The first extension portion may comprise a receiving area, including a fluid ejection port located in the receiving area and a fluid pathway that fluidly connects a fluid inlet to the fluid ejection port. The fluid inlet may be a feature of the central portion. The decontamination rack may be incorporated into a tray of a decontamination system. The fluid inlet may be connected to a source of decontamination fluid provided by the system. A method of decontaminating the device includes disposing the device in a decontamination rack such that the instrument rests on at least one receiving area; and ejecting a decontamination fluid through a fluid ejection port of the receiving area such that the decontamination fluid contacts the instrument. The fluid may be ejected from the ejection port with sufficient force to lift the device off of the receiving area. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS While the specification concludes with claims, which particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter described herein, it is believed the subject matter will be better understood from the following description of certain examples taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals identify the same elements and in which: FIG. 1 depicts a perspective view of an exemplary decontamination rack; FIG. 2 depicts a sectional view along section line 2-2 of the decontamination rack of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 depicts a perspective view of an exemplary decontamination system; and FIG. 4 depicts a perspective view of an endoscope in the decontamination system of FIG. 3. MODES OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The following detailed description should be read with reference to the drawings, in which like elements in different drawings are identically numbered. The drawings, which are not necessarily to scale, depict selected embodiments and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The detailed description illustrates by way of example, not by way of limitation, the principles of the invention. This descrip