Endoclens: A New Liquid Chemical Sterilization System
A new automated endoscope-reprocessing system has been submitted to FDA for clearance. The system is designed to provide rapid, automated, point-of-use chemical sterilization of flexible endoscopes and consists of a computer-controlled endoscope- reprocessing machine and a new, proprietary liquid sterilant that uses performic acid. The sterilant is produced, as needed by the machine, by automatic mixing of the two component solutions of hydrogen peroxide and formic acid. This sterilant is fast-acting against spore-forming bacteria (Table 4). The system's major features are an automatic cleaning process, capability to process two flexible scopes asynchronously, automated channel blockage and leak detection, filter water rinsing and scope drying after sterilization, hard-copy documentation of key process parameters, user-friendly machine interface, and total cycle time less than 30 minutes. The reprocessor can also be disinfected automatically to prevent infection or pseudoinfection.
The reprocessor can independently process two endoscopes at the user's discretion since it has two washing/sterilization bays. The endoscopes are attached to special holders (racks), which slide into the machine bays located in the front of the machine and provide a connection between the reprocessor and the endoscope's inner channels
Comments