EP2812034A1

EP2812034A1 - Disinfecting device for swabs

Info

Publication number: EP2812034A1
Application number: EP13703567.1A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Abdolhamid Huschmand Nia
Original assignee: Klinika Medical GmbH
Current assignee: Klinika Medical GmbH
Priority date: 2012-02-07
Filing date: 2013-02-06
Publication date: 2014-12-17
Also published as: WO2013117557A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a disinfecting device for preparing swabs (20.1, 20.2, 20.3), comprising a liquid-tight container (2) having an access opening (3) to a sterile interior area (4) of the container (2), which access opening lies at the top and which interior area is divided into a compartment (7) for accommodating swabs and a compartment (8) lying thereabove for accommodating disinfectant by a compartment separating apparatus (6) that can be removed from the container (2), wherein the compartment separating apparatus (6) creates a liquid-tight barrier in the closed position of the compartment separating apparatus and a fluid channel (9) between the compartments (7, 8) in the open position of the compartment separating apparatus, and comprising a compressing element (10) for swabs (20.1, 20.2, 20.3) that is part of the compartment separating apparatus (6), wherein an operating apparatus (11) is provided on the compartment separating apparatus (6) for setting the closed and open positions of the fluid channel (9), which operating apparatus lies within the sterile interior area (4) and at the same time forms a handle (16) for the compressing element (10).

Description

DESINFEK ION DEVICE FOR DUTCH

The invention relates to a disinfecting device for preparing swabs, comprising a liquid-tight container having an overhead access opening to a sterile interior of the container, by a removable from the container compartment separation device in a compartment for swab recording and in an overlying compartment for Disinfectants recording is divided, the compartment separator in its closed position creates a liquid-tight barrier and in its open position, a fluid channel between the compartments, and comprising a compression element for swabs, which is part of the compartment separator. Another object of the invention is a disinfection set with such a disinfecting device and at least one swab.

Prior to a surgical procedure, skin areas are thoroughly disinfected by washing with disinfectant-absorbing swabs. The application of the disinfectant solution is carried out in at least two treatment steps with a subsequent decrease excess disinfectant by sterile, dry swabs. The swabs or sponges used for this treatment are usually placed in a sterile dish for preparation and doused with disinfectant. This does not specify whether the disinfectant volume is sufficient for the intended application or whether there is a surplus. Care must be taken during this procedure to ensure that the swabs are soaked in disinfectants as completely as possible, but that they do not drip excessively when being removed from the shell.

In order to meet the problem outlined above, JP 2004 001784 A proposes packaging a predetermined amount of disinfectant in a first compartment and an associated swab in a second compartment as a sterile set. Before use, a barrier is broken between the first compartment and the second compartment so that the swab comes into contact with the disinfectant and then removed from the disinfectant kit for skin treatment. can be taken. A disadvantage of this approach, however, is that the disinfectants commonly used are not sufficiently thermally stable that sterilization can be carried out by a heat treatment. Accordingly, the swabs and the packaging components of the disinfection set must first be sterilized separately. In a further step, the filling with disinfectant. The necessary sterile conditions are complicated to implement, so that the portioning and allocation of sterilizing agent to the medical swabs leads to higher production costs.

Another difficulty in preparing medical swabs is when they are made of synthetic materials such as foams. However, it is advantageous with such swabs that they do not tend to lint, so that the likelihood of contamination of the surgical area is reduced by particles falling off the swabs. A disadvantage of the use of these materials, however, is that their absorbency is not comparable to the previously used cotton fleeces.

In order to ensure a sufficient fluid absorption of foam swabs in the disinfecting bath, it is necessary to completely compress them in the submerged state and thus to vent, so that in the subsequent relaxation step disinfectant is sucked into the inner cavities. For this purpose, stamp devices are used, as are known, for example, from DE 10 2007 057 364 B3 and US Pat. No. 3,661,685 A. A disadvantage of the known devices, the operation by hand by a movement of a compression means on the disinfectant, so this step must be performed very carefully to maintain sterile conditions. It is usually necessary that the attending physician receives assistance through an assistant who operates the compression device and can touch the outer parts thereof. Only after the compression means are removed again in a subsequent step, the removal of the soaked with disinfectant swabs can be done by a doctor working under fully sterile conditions.

Furthermore, WO 2007/039120 A1 discloses a disinfection device. tion, which stores a predetermined disinfectant volume and a defined number of swabs in different compartments. By storing swabs in a compartment, this is a disinfection set, consisting of a disinfecting device and several swabs inserted therein. In this prior art, the merging of the swab with the disinfectant solution is carried out by a mechanical intervention from the outside on the outer casing of the set, which requires assistance. According to a preferred embodiment of such a disinfection set, the storage of the disinfectant takes place in a reservoir above the container with the initially unwetted swabs. By a vertically downward actuating force on the lid of the disinfection set, the disinfectant reservoir is displaced downwardly relative to an outer wall of the disinfection set, wherein a provided in the receiving compartment for the swab mandrel pierces a perforation at the bottom of the disinfectant reservoir, so that the disinfectant with the swabs in contact occurs. At the same time, the bottom of the reservoir serves as a press die for compressing the swabs. In this case, the application of force necessary for the movement of the disinfectant reservoir to the outer casing of the disinfection set by hand, which requires a high degree of sterility of all components of the set during the entire period of treatment. This places high demands on the production and storage of the set and forces its operation to be limited exclusively to sterile persons.

Against the background of the prior art discussed above, the object of the invention is to propose a device for preparing medical swabs, by means of which the sterile handling is simplified. It should be applied by means of the device a defined volume of any selectable disinfectant in conjunction with a compression and relaxation step on medical swabs, so that even difficult to be wetted, consisting of a synthetic material such as foam swabs can be used.

This object is achieved according to the invention by a generic disinfection device mentioned at the beginning, in which an actuating device on the compartment separating device for adjusting the closed and open position of the fluid channel is provided, which lies within the sterile inner region and at the same time forms a handle for the Komprimierungselennent.

This swab preparation disinfectant provides a liquid-tight container with an overhead access opening that can be filled with a discretionary volume of disinfectant. This results in both the standardization of the method for applying the disinfectant to the swab as well as a sufficient adaptability to the respective treatment of a patient to be carried out. In this case, a sterile inner area of the container is accessible via an access opening which is arranged on top of the container, so that an intervention by means of sterile surgical cutlery for the operation of the disinfection device and the subsequent removal of the prepared swabs is possible.

Within the sterile interior of the container there are two compartments, whereby in a first compartment - the compartment for swab reception - the swabs to be treated can be inserted. In this case, an assembly with swabs can already be made on the production side, so that a preferred disinfection set with such a disinfection device and at least one swab is provided.

In a second compartment - the compartment for disinfectant uptake - a disinfectant can be filled. Preferably, for this purpose, first a lid is removed from the disinfecting device, which covers the access opening to the sterile inner region of the container for storage germ-free. Then, via the access opening, the disinfectant solution suitable for the present number of swabs and the treatment to be carried out is filled with the intended volume. In this step, the swabs located in the compartment for swab reception initially do not come into contact with the disinfectant, which in this phase is exclusively in the compartment for disinfectant uptake. Between the compartments there is a compartment separating device, which forms a liquid-tight barrier in its closed position and thus in the initial position the transfer of the disinfectant from the comparator for disinfectant uptake to the compartment for swab intake prevented.

The compartment separator is associated with an actuator that allows the closed position to be converted to an open position for which a fluid channel is created between the compartments, which allows the disinfectant to pass from the disinfectant compartment to the swab compartment. According to the invention, the actuating device is located on the compartment separating device for adjusting the closed and open position of the fluid channel within the sterile inner region of the container of the disinfection device. As a result, an external handling by a manual access is not required. Instead, the actuating device can preferably be operated by a fully sterile person by means of a sterile medical cutlery suitable for grasping a swab, for example a pair of forceps. Preferably, the actuator is centrally and in the form of a pliers gripping handle for this purpose. Then an operation of the actuator without touching other parts of the disinfection device by the doctor himself is possible without requiring assistance.

Further, the actuating means of the compartment separator at the same time forms the handle for the movement of a compression element, can be exerted by the pressure on covered with a disinfectant swab to vent them. By means of this dual function of the actuating device, the compartment separating device can be opened on the one hand by means of a single access by means of a medical cutlery, so that the predetermined volume of disinfectant flows from the compartment for disinfectant intake into the compartment for swab reception. On the other hand results from a continuation of the operation, a movement of the compression element and thus a pressurization of the underlying swab in the compartment for swab recording.

After venting the swab lifting the compartment separator is carried out of the container, the initial handle by the sterile medical cutlery on the actuator does not need to be changed. Subsequently, the compartment for swab accommodation is open with the prepared swabs, which can then be removed individually with a suitable sterile instrument, such as a forceps.

The compartment separator preferably includes an aperture which is supported on a shoulder on the inner wall of the container such that a downward force that moves the compression member toward the underlying compartment for swab reception leaves the aperture stationary. An upward force on the actuator raises the shutter from the associated shoulder on the inner wall so that the compartment separator can be removed as a whole from the container.

Further advantages and embodiments will become apparent from the following description of an embodiment with reference to the accompanying figures. Show it:

1 shows a disinfection set with a disinfecting device and swabs taken therein as a sectional view,

2 shows a plan view of a panel as part of a compartment separating device of the disinfection device of Figure 1,

3 is a plan view of a compression element as another part of

Compartment separation device of the disinfection device of FIG. 1,

FIGS. 4 to 7 show, in a sequence, steps for impregnating swabs located in the disinfecting device with a predetermined volume of disinfectant.

FIG. 1 shows, schematically simplified, a disinfection set according to the invention in a sectional view. In this case, there is a disinfectant device 1 according to the invention, which is first sealed by means of a lid 18 and is already equipped with swabs 20.1, 20.2, 20.3. The lid 18 protects a sterile area 4 and provides a protective barrier against an outside area 5. Within the sterile interior area 4 there are two compartment doors. It is a compartment 7 for swab recording in which swabs 20.1, 20.2, 20.3 are located. About this compartment 7 for swab recording is a compartment 8 for disinfectant uptake. Between the compartments 7, 8 a compartment separator 6 is arranged. This creates a fluid-tight barrier between the two compartments 7, 8 in an initially present closed position. This is realized for the present exemplary embodiment by a seal 21 between an aperture 13 of the compartment separator 6 and the inner wall 19 of the container 2.

The compartment separation device 6 additionally comprises a compression element 10 which, for the preferred embodiment shown, comprises a plunger body 15, which is arranged below the diaphragm 13. In the initial state, that is: In the closed position of the compartment separator 6, there is no fluid connection between the two compartments 7, 8. This can be done in different ways, for example, characterized in that between the panel 13 and the punch body 15, a sealing element is arranged, for example, a sealing washer. In the illustrated embodiment, the punch body 15 is connected with its facing the panel 13 side with this liquid-tight by a releasable fluid-fluid compound, such as an adhesive.

The plunger body 15 of the compression element 10 is adjoined by a handle 16, which protrudes vertically upwardly into the compartment for disinfectant intake 8 through a passage opening 14 on the panel 13. This handle 16, which serves to apply force and leadership of the punch body 15, at the same time represents an actuating device 1 1 of the compartment separator 6, which makes it possible to transfer them from the closed position in the open-Steil, for a fluidic Connection between the compartment 8 for disinfectant uptake and the compartment 7 for swab recording exists. This becomes clear with the operating procedure described below. An operation of the disinfection set with its disinfection device 1 is described below in individual steps. FIG. 4 shows a first step for the operation of the disinfection device 1 according to the invention. It can be seen that the lid 18 has already been removed, so that an access opening 3 to the inner area 4 exists. Through this access opening 3, a disinfectant 24 is filled into the compartment 8 for disinfectant uptake. Since a selected disinfectant 24 having a predetermined volume for the standardized execution of the swab preparation is preferred for the selected number and the present material of the swab 20.1, 20.2, 20.3, this provides a volume measuring device for the disinfectant to be introduced into the disinfection device 1. Preferably, a level scale 12 is used for this purpose, which is provided on the handle 16 and thus on the actuating device 1 1. In the illustrated embodiment, the level scale 12 is realized by introduced into the handle notches. Alternatively, the level scale can be arranged on the inside of the container as rings or lines with volume.

In a further method step shown in FIG. 5, the actuating device 11 is gripped from the sterile inner region 4 by means of a medical cutlery 25, in the present case a cereal tongs. An acting downward force results in movement of the plunger body 15 into the compartment 7, while the panel 13 is retained by the shoulder 22 against the inner wall 19 of the container 2. As a result, a gap 17 between the top of the stamper body 15 and the underside of the aperture 13 is formed. The thus forming fluid channel 9 allows overflow of the disinfectant 24 from the compartment for disinfectant uptake 8 in the compartment for swab 7.

The formation of a fluid channel 9 is facilitated by a suitable shaping of the punch body 15. A preferred embodiment is shown in FIG. It is seen that the punch body 15 and the aperture 13 shown in Figure 2 are matched to the through hole 14 so that the handle 16 without tilting as shown in Figure 6 can be performed vertically downward. By the on the punch body 15 in The edge regions present recesses 23.1, 23.4, the formation of a fluid channel 9 at the spacing shown in Figure 5 between the punch body 15 and the aperture 13 is ensured.

FIG. 6 outlines the subsequent process step of venting the swabs 20. 1, 20. 2, 20. 3 by continuing the vertically downward movement of the compression element 10 until the swabs 20. 1, 20. 2, 20. 3 located below the level of the disinfectant 24 in the compartment 7 for swab reception first compressed and then relaxed again. This results in a complete filling of the cavities for preferably made of foam swabs 20.1, 20.2, 20.3 with disinfectant 24. This state is outlined in Figure 7, wherein in the compartment 7 for swab recording only a small residue not soaked disinfectant 24 remains. In a further, concluding process step, without letting go of the handle 16, the compartment separator 6 is lifted out of the container 2 by means of the medical cutlery 25. Now the prepared swabs 20.1, 20.2, 20.3 are free and can be removed individually without further ado.

Further embodiments are conceivable within the scope of the claims. In this case, there may be more than one actuating device 11 on the compartment separating device 6 for an extended container 2, which can then be grasped correspondingly with two medical cutleries 25. Furthermore, it is possible to design the compartment separating device 6 in such a way that in the ground state, ie the closed position, the compression element 10 and the diaphragm 3 are integrally formed, wherein a plunger body 15 at a parting line prepared by material weakening by applying force to the movement device 1 1 is separable. Furthermore, it is possible not to hold the panel 13 by means of a shoulder 22 on the inner wall 19 of the container during operation fixed. Instead, this element in the ground state can initially be arranged only frictionally on the inner wall 19 for realizing the separation function between the compartments. By applying force to the actuating device 11, the entire compartment separating device can then be moved in the direction of the swab 20.1, 20.2, which is inserted in the compartment for the swab-receiving device. 20.3 are moved. For a further variant, the compartment separation device 6 comprises elastic components which, by means of an elastic deformation, permit a pressing action by means of an integrated compression element 10 on the swabs 20.1, 20.2, 20.3.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

1 disinfection device

2 containers

3 access opening

4 indoor area

5 outdoor area

6 Kompartinnent separator

7 compartment for swabbing

8 compartment for disinfectant uptake

9 fluid channel

10 compression element

1 1 actuator

12 level scale

13 aperture

14 passage opening

15 stamp body

16 handle

17 gap

18 lids

19 inner wall

20.2, 20.3 swabs

21 seal

22 shoulder

, 1, ... 23.4 recess

24 disinfectants

25 medical cutlery

Claims

claims

Disinfecting device for preparing swabs (20.1, 20.2, 20.3), comprising a liquid-tight container (2) with an overhead access opening (3) to a sterile inner region (4) of the container (2), which is separated from the container (2) Removable compartment separator (6) in a compartment

(7) for swabbing and in an overlying compartment

(8) is divided for disinfectant uptake, wherein the compartment separation device (6) in its closed position creates a liquid-tight barrier and in its open position, a fluid channel (9) between the compartments (7, 8), and a comprehensive Compression element (10) for swabs (20.1, 20.2, 20.3), which is part of the compartment separation device (6), characterized in that an actuating device (1 1) on the compartment separation device (6) for adjusting the closed and open Position of the fluid channel (9) is provided, which lies within the sterile inner region (4) and at the same time forms a handle (16) for the compression element (10).

Disinfecting device according to claim 1, characterized in that the actuating device (1 1) within the Kom- partiment (8) is arranged for disinfectant uptake.

Disinfection device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the actuating device (1 1) carries a level scale (12) for the compartment (8) for disinfectant uptake.

Disinfection device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the actuating device (1 1) is designed so that it is operable by means of a suitable for the gripping of swabs medical cutlery (25), in particular a cereal tongs.

5. Disinfection device according to one of the preceding claims characterized in that the compartment separation device (6) comprises a diaphragm (13) with an aperture (14), which aperture (14) by the compression element (10) in the closed position of the Fluidka- nals (9 is closed and which aperture (13) so on a shoulder (22) on an inner wall (19) of the container (2) rests that during a downward force application to the actuating device (1 1), the compression element (10) in Direction to the underlying compartment (8) moves to swab recording, the diaphragm (13) remains stationary and thereby the fluid channel (9) is brought in its open-Steil.

Disinfecting device according to claim 5, characterized in that the diaphragm (13) comprises a passage opening (14) and on the compression element (10) a plunger body (15) is present, which is arranged below the diaphragm (13), wherein the handle (16) of the Compression element (10) through the passage opening (14) therethrough up into the compartment (8) for the disinfectant uptake protrudes.

Disinfecting device according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that in the open position of the compartment separation device (6) of the fluid channel (9) between the compartment (7) for swab receiving (7) and the compartment (8) for disinfectant uptake in the form of a Intermediate space (17) between the punch body (15) and the diaphragm (13) is formed.

Disinfecting device according to one of claims 5 or 6, characterized in that for removing the compartment separation device (6) from the container (2), the diaphragm (13) of the shoulder (22) by an upward force application to the actuating device (1 1 ) can be lifted.

Disinfecting device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the access opening (3) is associated with a cover (18).

10. disinfection set comprising a disinfection device (1) according to one of the preceding claims and at least one swab (20.1, 20.2, 20.3), which in the compartment (7) for the Tupferauf- would take (7).