The medical instrument disinfection process using EO gas sterilizers involves using Ethylene Oxide gas to sterilize medical supplies, healthcare instruments, pharmaceutical production equipment, and veterinary equipment.
The medical instrument disinfection and sterilization process takes place in 3 stages to ensure that products are safely sterilized before being released to the market or reused. Low-temperature EO gas sterilizers are compatible with most different materials, especially instruments that cannot withstand high temperatures or humidity.
EO gas sterilizers operate with a simple medical instrument disinfection and sterilization process, and the maintenance costs of the machines are negligible. At the same time, the cost of sterilization per batch is lower compared to other low-temperature sterilization methods. Let MIGCO explore the EO gas disinfection process.
Medical instrument disinfection process using EO gas sterilizers
Ethylene Oxide (EO) gas sterilizers can operate in a traditional disinfection and sterilization cycle or a fast processing cycle.
Both types of medical instrument disinfection and sterilization processes include the following three processing stages.
Pre-conditioning – The first step of the medical instrument disinfection process
This is the first step of the medical instrument processing procedure using EO gas, specifically preparing the ideal conditions for temperature, humidity, and pressure. At this stage, all air in the disinfection chamber is completely removed to allow ETO gas to enter.
Testing the industrial EO sterilizer is required to prevent gas leaks that could endanger the environment and ensure the safety of the operator.
After the ETO gas is pumped into the chamber, a small amount of water vapor is introduced to humidify and preheat the products. Because EO sterilizers or ETO gas only works most effectively in a humid environment.
The disinfection chamber of the EO gas sterilizer is heated by steam or hot water in the equipment’s casing. Typically, the equipment packaging is maintained at a stable temperature 24/7 to minimize temperature fluctuations in the disinfection chamber.
Disinfection stage in the medical instrument processing procedure
Instrument disinfection in an EO gas sterilizer is the second step in the EO gas instrument processing procedure. Humidity is increased to allow ETO to penetrate most effectively into all surfaces of the instruments to be sterilized. The lower the concentration of EO gas in the disinfection chamber, the longer the working time of the EO disinfection process.
Plastic materials absorb ETO more, so it is necessary to maintain a stable gas concentration. During a certain working period, it is sometimes necessary to add or pump more ETO gas.
At the same time, it is necessary to ensure the ETO concentration for effective disinfection and high safety for each individual instrument or a set of various instruments.
Aeration or ventilation stage:
This is the longest step in the medical instrument disinfection procedure using an EO gas sterilizer and is also the most important stage. Because plastic materials or rubber instruments absorb ETO more, if they are medical instruments used for patient treatment, the residual ETO can have harmful effects and must meet the limits specified in ISO 10993-7.
Avoiding the risk of causing tissue necrosis on the body is very important for patient health. Therefore, any EO sterilizer must have an aeration process to remove residual ETO from the items.
This ventilation process is carried out by pumping HEPA-filtered gas at 30 to 50 degrees Celsius for 2 days (48 hours).
When using industrial EO sterilizers or EO sterilizers such as the gs5 1d, a well-built infrastructure is required. Such as having a compressed air ventilation system or needing a catalyst to create a harmless mixture before discharging it into the environment.
If using an EO sterilizer with a capacity of 200 liters or other capacities for hospitals, a separate HVAC system is required, not sharing the building’s ventilation system.
Conclusion on the instrument disinfection and sterilization process
Currently, there are many types of machines with different EO sterilizer prices, depending on the capacity or size of the EO sterilizer. You can contact MIG – a reputable EO sterilizer supplier for advice and an accurate quote.
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The detailed information on the medical instrument disinfection and sterilization process using EO gas provided above hopefully has given you useful knowledge. From which you can decide whether or not to invest in this low-temperature EO sterilizer and how to operate the EO disinfection process safely.
>> See more: What is Ethylene oxide – EO? Applications of ethylene oxide in medicine
