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Three effective ways of protecting endoscopes
Optimizing the flow of endoscopes from soiled to clean
Every day, endoscopy is used to diagnose bleeding, inflammation, tumors, polyps and cancer. Several procedures may also be carried out to remove a small tumor or take samples for a biopsy. After each endoscopy procedure, the medical devices undergo complete reprocessing before being reused.
Currently in Quebec, Medical Device Reprocessing Departments (MDRDs) must meet Accreditation Canada requirements for all aspects of endoscope reprocessing. As a result, the URDMs of healthcare establishments must comply with the various standards and guidelines in order to meet the established standards.
To assist hospitals in their quality assurance programs concerning the reprocessing of medical devices, Adaptaid has developed solutions to facilitate the transport, drying, storage and traceability of endoscopes. These solutions include transport trays and carts, as well as ventilated cabinets.
Let's start with the transport tray. It enables the safe transport of a flexible medical device, which has to pass unidirectionally from the soiled zone to the clean zone, and then to the sterile zone, in order to avoid any contamination.
Its transparent shell is designed specifically for the medical field to provide a quick overview of the medical device inside. The tray has two side handles with a front opening for easy handling.
A nameplate (soiled/cleaned) is inserted between the lid and the sealable tray to indicate the status of the contents throughout the reprocessing stages. This molded tray, which comes with a lid, has a unique design with rounded inner corners that minimize the time needed for cleaning.
What's more, this robust polycarbonate tray is compatible with high-temperature automatic washers. Its ability to be rapidly cleaned and reused significantly reduces waste and operating costs for hospitals, while providing an eco-responsible solution.
To maximize productivity, Adaptaid has added to its range, a cart designed to carry several endoscope trays simultaneously. Made from stainless steel, the endoscope transport cart can hold up to five trays and can be cleaned at high temperatures in automated cart washers.
The endoscope transport trays are placed individually on the cart’s rails, which are fitted with retaining stops to prevent movement. In this way, the endoscopes are protected from damage during their transit from the operating room to the reprocessing department, where the reusable medical devices are decontaminated.
Once reprocessing is complete, the endoscope cabinets facilitate drying, storage and traceability of the endoscopes. To speed up the transfer of endoscopes, pass-through cabinets provide rapid passage with controlled access between two areas.
Made entirely of stainless steel and fitted with HEPA filters and continuous positive pressure ventilation, the endoscope cabinets provide a safe environment during drying and storage.
Each endoscope is suspended vertically on an individual soft molded hook (without contact with the others) to facilitate drying. Endoscope channels can also be ventilated to purge water from them and speed up drying.
Thanks to a traceability system, the endoscope cabinet makes it possible to document the activities of each endoscopic device housed in it. This includes controlled user access, recording of endoscopes and their status, HEPA filter maintenance and much more.
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