Method and device for measuring and controlling the circulation of fluids in endoscope channels
원문보기
IPC분류정보
국가/구분
United States(US) Patent
등록
국제특허분류(IPC7판)
A61L-002/24
B08B-009/00
G01B-013/08
출원번호
UP-0506682
(2003-02-14)
등록번호
US-7708938
(2010-06-03)
우선권정보
FR-02 03439(2002-03-20)
국제출원번호
PCT/FR2003/000479
(2003-02-14)
§371/§102 date
20041222
(20041222)
국제공개번호
WO03/077960
(2003-09-25)
발명자
/ 주소
Mariotti, Bernard
Dray, Frédéric
대리인 / 주소
Greenblum & Bernstein, P.L.C.
인용정보
피인용 횟수 :
1인용 특허 :
2
초록▼
Method and device for measuring and controlling the circulation of fluids in endoscope channels. Device includes hermetic chamber having a known volume and a low level and high level sensor to control filling and emptying. The chamber is connected to a filtered air compressor, an injection pump to i
Method and device for measuring and controlling the circulation of fluids in endoscope channels. Device includes hermetic chamber having a known volume and a low level and high level sensor to control filling and emptying. The chamber is connected to a filtered air compressor, an injection pump to inject a drying product and a circulation pump to circulate cleaning and disinfecting solutions contained in the tank. The tank can receive at least one endoscope and includes injectors connected by a solenoid valve to the hermetic chamber. The device is used to verify and record the flow of cleaning, disinfecting, rinsing and drying solutions passing through each of the endoscope channels during the cleaning and disinfecting operations.
대표청구항▼
The invention claimed is: 1. A process for measuring and controlling the circulation of fluids in endoscope channels comprising: placing at least one endoscope into a tank; coupling one or more inlet channels of the endoscope to a hermetic chamber having a known volume and one or more valves, the h
The invention claimed is: 1. A process for measuring and controlling the circulation of fluids in endoscope channels comprising: placing at least one endoscope into a tank; coupling one or more inlet channels of the endoscope to a hermetic chamber having a known volume and one or more valves, the hermetic chamber being equipped with a low level sensor and a high level sensor, and an upper portion of the hermetic chamber being connected to a connection solenoid valve that allows air to evacuate when the hermetic chamber is being filled; filling the hermetic chamber and valves to a high level position, thereby saturating the tank and inlet channels with a fluid from at least one fluid supply, wherein the filling is performed by a circulation pump arranged upstream of the hermetic chamber and which is configured to agitate contents of the tank; pressurizing the hermetic chamber using a filtered air compressor; controlling and recording a time for a fluid flow under pressure within the hermetic chamber to travel from the high level position to a designated low level position when at least one of the valves is open to at least a respective one of the one or more inlet channels; and confirming that the fluids are circulating in each portion of each channel of the endoscope, that the at least respective one of the one or more inlet channels are properly coupled to the at least one of the valves, and that none of the respective one or more channels are closed. 2. The process in accordance with claim 1, wherein the controlling occurs in a controller comprising the high level sensor and the low level sensor arranged to detect the emptying of the chamber, and wherein the controller verifies the known fluid volume and flow rate from a recorded emptying of the hermetic chamber, and uses the recorded fluid volume and flow rate in the confirming. 3. The process in accordance with claim 2, wherein the controller is able to control at the same time, the flow of several endoscopes using a plurality of hermetic chambers that have different volumes, as well as to increase the control of flow in sets of channels of the same endoscope having similar diameters. 4. The process in accordance with claim 1, wherein the controlling and filling of the hermetic chamber comprises: emptying of the hermetic chamber down to the low level under pressure, wherein a controller controls a filling time in the filling of the chamber up to the high level ensuring the valves, tank and channels of the endoscope are saturated with fluid; and emptying of the filled hermetic chamber and recording the time for the fluid to reach the low level. 5. The process in accordance with claim 4, wherein the controller compares the recorded emptying time of the fluid from the high level to the low level in the hermetic chamber to a reference time corresponding to an average time for emptying the chamber under the same pressure through the channel of an endoscope of the same type. 6. The process in accordance with claim 1, recording a reference time in a controller or in an external database connected to the controller so as to begin to establish a control time. 7. The process in accordance with claim 1, wherein a control time is repeated several times in a same channel of interest, such that an average of the measurements are compared to an independent reference time. 8. The process in accordance with claim 1, wherein a control time is undertaken in one or more steps of a fluid cycle comprising one of cleaning, disinfecting, rinsing, and drying. 9. The process in accordance with claim 1, wherein testing of the hermetic chamber operability comprises: purging the hermetic chamber and the one or more valves to verify the impermeability of the hermetic chamber and the one or more channel valves coupled thereto, filling the hermetic chamber to the high level; and pressurizing the hermetic chamber at a given pressure via the filtered air compressor under control of a sensor, such that a recorded measuring of a pressure drop during a specified period of time is sufficient to diagnose leakage. 10. The process in accordance with claim 1, further comprising testing of the operability of the high level sensor and the low level sensor of the hermetic chamber, wherein the measuring of time for filling the chamber between the low and high levels is recorded, and compares the recorded time to an independent reference time. 11. The process in accordance with claim 10, wherein when the recorded time is greater or less, respectively, than the independent reference time, a cycle stop and/or an error message is generated. 12. The process in accordance with claim 1, wherein the inlet channels of the endoscope are coupled to valves with connectors, one or more separators are positioned and arranged at the inlet channels common to air and water channels so as to separate the flows of the air and water of an insufflation piston of the endoscope, and the one or more separators allows a very slight communication between the air and the water channels preventing not greater than a 30% loss of flow for each of the channels, such that each of the channels of the endoscope are individually coupled to at least one individual injector located in the tank, along with being coupled to the hermetic chamber via at least one valve. 13. The process in accordance with claim 1, further comprising coupling injectors of the tank to a tube having an inner cross-section less than 5 mm, such that one end is free. 14. The process in accordance with claim 13, wherein the endoscopes are coupled to the injectors by sealing couplings that permit fluid flow to pass only when the sealing couplings are properly connected to the inlet of the endoscope channel. 15. The process in accordance with claim 1, further comprising gathering at least one sample solution, wherein the endoscope channels are not disconnected at the end of a disinfecting cycle, and after selecting to open one or more injection valves, the sampling solution is injected through the connection valve using a pump or a syringe, such that the sampling solution is injected through the one or more channels of the endoscope, of which, the sampling solution is then collected at the end of the one or more channels end.
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이 특허에 인용된 특허 (2)
Pfeifer Egbert,DEX, Method for the testing and cleaning of instruments for minimal invasive surgery or minimal invasive examination of body.
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