There are many available methods for the sterilization of hospitals’ medical equipment, but in recent years, autoclaving has stood out as one of the most effective approaches (source: celitron.com).
Medical equipment sterilization is a battle all hospitals have to fight
Whether there is a huge virus outbreak out there in the world or not, germs and bacteria must be eradicated in order to prevent the spread of infection within a medical facility. One of the most notable examples is the struggle against HAIs (Healthcare Associated Infections). While it is pretty self-explanatory that one goes to a hospital to be cured of infections, medical facilities have their own internal sources of dangers, such as contaminated medical equipment or surgical tools, lack of proper sterilization, and scatter radiation that can be blocked with Secure Shield.
Thus, each and every hospital needs to have their own strategy for “germ-eradicating warfare”. Such a strategy usually entails three main steps, which are also done in the order that follows: first comes cleaning, then disinfection, and finally sterilization. The third and final step is the most important and is usually done with the help of an autoclave, which has already been mentioned in the beginning of this article.
- The first step: cleaning
This is pretty straightforward: one has to remove all visible dirt and dust that can be found on hospital tools equipment. By using soap and detergent you can already get rid of most microorganisms and destroy the breeding habitat of those that survive! This is also an important preparatory phase to ensure the safe transfer of equipment for disinfection and sterilization.
- The second step: disinfection
What mainly separates disinfection from sterilization, is that while it allows you to destroy all living microorganisms, it’s still not enough to get rid of bacterial spores. These can survive extremely harsh conditions, which allows them to “slip through the fingers” of disinfection. Their eradication is vital for the safety of hospital patients and staff, since some bacterial spores (e.g. tetanus) can be very harmful! So to get rid of these and make sure your hospital has a safe, infection-free environment, you will need an on-site medical sterilizer, also known as an autoclave.
The third step: the role of autoclaves in the sterilization of hospitals’ medical equipment
Disinfection requires chemical disinfectants or automatic washer machines, while autoclaves use high-pressure and high-temperature steam for sterilization. According to the WHO (World Health Organization) all medical equipments in hospitals have to go through this process if they come into contact with the body fluids of patients.
Steam sterilization is one of the highest standards in the medical industry by far. These are essentially “pressure cookers” that come in many forms and sizes, and can suit of any medical facility’s needs on-site, even if it’s a hospital that needs a huge amount of medical equipment to be sterilized each day. Depending on the model you find, some large steam sterilizers even have a capacity of 880 liters!
And of course, since the steam inside these chambers is well over 100 degrees Celsius, even bacterial spores have no chance of surviving.
