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US-12622987-B2 - Automated device for disinfection of stethoscope head piece using dual means simultaneously

US12622987B2US 12622987 B2US12622987 B2US 12622987B2US-12622987-B2

Abstract

The embodiments herein relate to a device for disinfection of stethoscope headpiece using dual means working simultaneously. The device of the present invention provides a two-advantage system of simultaneously using photo and chemical disinfection methods. According to an embodiment herein, the device comprises a disinfection chamber equipped with photo-disinfection means having multiple ultraviolet-C LED radiation lamps and chemical disinfection means having chemical spray nozzles. The device of the present invention has an additional functionality of disinfecting stethoscope headpiece using chemical liquid spray making the disinfection process more efficient and a reduced disinfection time.

Inventors

  • Arpan Rameshchandra Doshi

Assignees

  • Arpan Rameshchandra Doshi

Dates

Publication Date
20260512
Application Date
20221105

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . An automated device ( 100 ) for disinfection of stethoscope headpiece using dual means working simultaneously, comprises: a housing ( 2 ); at least two chamber present inside the housing ( 2 ), wherein one chamber is a disinfection chamber ( 10 ) and another chamber is a chemical holding chamber ( 11 ); a plurality of spray tubes ( 15 ) and nozzles ( 18 ), wherein the plurality of spray tubes ( 15 ) and nozzles ( 18 ) are present in the disinfection chamber ( 10 ); a plurality of UV light source ( 14 ) present inside the disinfection chamber ( 10 ); a holder ( 13 ) present inside the disinfection chamber ( 10 ); at least two doors ( 4 ) hinged with the chambers ( 10 ) and ( 11 ), respectively; an air vent ( 20 ) present in the disinfection chamber ( 10 ); a bottom outlet ( 21 ) sealed with a rubber gasket ( 22 ) present at the bottom of the housing passing through the disinfection chamber ( 10 ); and a power supply.
  2. 2 . The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the chemical holding chamber ( 11 ) is present on top side of the disinfection chamber in vertical orientation ( 10 ).
  3. 3 . The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the chemical holding chamber ( 11 ) holds a bag ( 16 ) of a disinfection chemical.
  4. 4 . The device as claimed in claim 3 , wherein the chemical moves out from an opening ( 17 ) present in the bag ( 16 ) to the spray tubes ( 15 ).
  5. 5 . The device as claimed in claim 3 , wherein the bag ( 16 ) is disposable and is replaced when the chemical gets over by opening the door.
  6. 6 . The device as claimed in claim 3 , wherein the bag ( 16 ) is shaped in a way to fit the shape of the chemical holding chamber ( 11 ).
  7. 7 . The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the holding chamber ( 11 ) has a slight slope ( 24 ) with top part of the chamber at higher elevation than the bottom part of the chamber allowing the flow of disinfection chemical to the outlet in vertical as well as horizontal position.
  8. 8 . The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the plurality of spray tubes ( 15 ) deliver the chemical from the bag ( 16 ) kept inside the chemical holding chamber ( 11 ) to the disinfection chamber ( 10 ) through spray tubes ( 15 ) and nozzles ( 18 ).
  9. 9 . The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the holder ( 13 ) is a U-shaped holder which is detachable to hold a stethoscope head piece, and wherein the holder ( 13 ) is positioned at the centre of the disinfection chamber ( 10 ).
  10. 10 . The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the nozzles ( 18 ) are communicated to the holding chamber ( 11 ) through a plurality of tubes ( 15 ).
  11. 11 . The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the disinfection chamber ( 10 ) is equipped with the at least three ultraviolet-Cray disinfection lamps, wherein at least one lamp ( 14 a ) is present on a left side of the disinfection chamber ( 10 ), wherein at least one lamp 14 b is present on a top side of the disinfection chamber ( 10 , and wherein at least one lamp ( 14 c ) is present on a right side of the disinfection chamber ( 10 ).
  12. 12 . The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the spray nozzles ( 18 a , 18 b ) are located on a left side and a right side inner wall of the disinfection chamber ( 10 ).
  13. 13 . The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the spray nozzles ( 18 a , 18 b ) spray the chemical from the bag ( 16 ) on the stethoscope headpiece placed on the holder ( 13 ) inside the disinfection chamber ( 10 ) when a power button is ON.
  14. 14 . The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the bottom outlet ( 21 ) sealed with a rubber gasket ( 22 ) allows passage of the stethoscope tube.
  15. 15 . The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the air vent ( 20 ) is located on at least one side of the disinfection chamber ( 10 ).
  16. 16 . The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein a control panel ( 12 ) is present on the housing ( 2 ), wherein the control panel ( 12 ) comprises a plurality of control keys, a timer display, indicator lights, a controller and a power supply unit.
  17. 17 . The device as claimed in claim 16 , wherein the controller is equipped with a programmable microchip or microcontroller.
  18. 18 . The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein an external holder ( 23 ) is present on an outer side of the housing ( 2 ) for holding an earpiece of the stethoscope.
  19. 19 . The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the stethoscope head piece disinfection device can be used in both vertical and horizontal orientation.
  20. 20 . The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the device takes less than 3 minutes for disinfection of stethoscope headpiece using photo-disinfection and chemical disinfection methods simultaneously.

Description

BACKGROUND Technical Field of Invention The embodiments herein generally relate to medical equipments and particularly to a medical equipment disinfection device. The embodiments herein more particularly relate to an automated device for disinfection of stethoscope head piece using UV-C and chemical method simultaneously. Description of Related Art Healthcare Associated Infections (HAI) are a significant public health problem worldwide with significant negative consequences, including impairment of patients' health, mortality, longer hospitalization with the need for longer treatment and associated higher costs. It has been seen that more than 32% of HAI are avoidable through proper hand washing and disinfection of medical devices between patients. The hands of healthcare professionals are said to be the main vehicle for the transmission of microbes, but also the medical devices (such as stethoscopes, otoscopes, and thermometers) are considered a source of transmission of microorganisms to patients. A variety of factors have been determined to contribute to the distribution of nosocomial infections. Nosocomial infections often result from inadequate or superficial management of cleaning, disinfection, and sterilization. All objects that come into contact with and are shared between personnel and patients are possible carriers of microorganisms. The handheld medical devices such as stethoscopes are of main concern. Unfortunately, although these instruments are in direct contact with many patients every day, their proper disinfection is not an established practice. Stethoscopes are the most customary medical equipment wield by physicians daily. The function of the stethoscope is to detect sounds coming from the patient's organs so that they can be interpreted to determine physiological or pathological conditions. There is a direct contact between its head with the various parts of the patient. It has been conclusively demonstrated that their membranes can transmit microbes and viruses from one patient to another and from health care worker to patient. Stethoscopes, if not disinfected, can cause cross-contamination. With the rise of potential infections in the healthcare setups, disinfection of this medical equipment is very much important. The simplest solution to the problem is to disinfect the stethoscope membrane before each use, to avoid contamination and its build-up with repeated uses. Unfortunately, this is rarely done in clinical practice, for various reasons, including poor hygiene practices by medical staff, forgetfulness in managing the various stages of medical care, lack of awareness/consideration of the importance of the procedure, and the cumbersome process of disinfecting with swabs moistened with chemical disinfectant. Where medical staff repeatedly pass from one patient to another, for example, when a doctor is making hospital rounds or nursing staff are routinely tending patients, the manual effort required to clean a stethoscope for each patient would significantly detract from the time available to examine each patient. The result is that reuse of a stethoscope without sufficient cleaning care being undertaken can result in the transfer of infectious or other organisms between patients. Traditional practice for cleaning and disinfecting stethoscope includes use of a cleansing agent such as an alcohol swab to wipe diaphragms or use disinfectants such as chlorhexidine, isopropyl alcohol, triclosan to inhibit decontamination of stethoscope. However, studies have shown that such traditional cleaning or disinfection procedures are often inadequate to completely destroy contaminants if indeed, they are carried out. Hence, the disinfection of stethoscope is a big challenge. One reason for this is that the currently available stethoscope designs are very sensitive to autoclave, thermal, gas, and chemical sterilization methods which can damage the diaphragm or other sensitive parts of the stethoscope. There have been prior arts which disclose use of UV-C light alone for disinfecting stethoscope. Miniaturization of UV-LED technology, as well as its low power consumption, long life, and decreasing cost, allow innovative applications for disinfection in the biomedical field. In view of foregoing, there is a need to develop a simple and portable device for disinfecting the stethoscope head piece while the doctor is working with several patients. There is also a need to develop a device for disinfecting stethoscope head piece that has dual working mechanism of UV-C disinfection and chemical disinfection simultaneously. The value additions and above-mentioned shortcomings, disadvantages and problems are addressed herein, as detailed below. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Thus, the primary object of the embodiments herein is to provide an automated device for disinfection of medical-healthcare instruments, especially the head piece of a stethoscope. Another object of the embodiments herein is to provide an auto