Steam sterilization system for sterilizing medical waste

Abstract

An integrated sterilization and materials handling system for sterilizing and handling items such as medical waste, paper, or other things comprises a cart for carrying a removable bin for holding the items to be sterilized, and a sterilization chamber that receives the bin when it is removed from the cart. The various embodiments include a bin that is dumpable with the cart using existing dumping apparatus, a bin that pivots on the cart to permit dumping of the items from the bin by tilting the bin, and a bin used primarily in a dry heat sterilization process of the invention when sterilizing items that are not to be discarded after sterilization to facilitate loading and unloading of the bin. The system has thermal energy booster plates mounted in the sterilization chamber for providing dry radiant heat to the chamber, and the system may vary process times, process pressures, and process temperatures to predetermine settings that correlate to the weight of the items to be sterilized.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]1. Field of the Invention[0002]This invention relates to a steam sterilization system for sterilization of items such as regulated medical waste, and more particularly concerns a steam sterilization system that integrates material handling with the sterilization process to reduce handling and pathogen exposure.[0003]2. Description of the Prior Art[0004]Regulated medical waste generated by hospitals and the like is required to be sterilized prior to being disposed. Typically, plastic and / or rubber carts of approximately one cubic yard in size are used in hospitals to collect medical waste which has been placed in waste containment systems (i.e., sharps containers, sealed red plastic bags, etc.). The plastic / rubber carts are used to collect and to haul the containment systems containing the medical waste to the hospital's sterilization unit, where the waste containment systems containing the medical waste are unloaded from the cart and placed into the ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009]Another object of the invention is to provide a sterilization system that avoids the condensation drawback of known steam based sterilization units as well as the airborne pathogen drawback of known vacuum autoclave systems.

[0010]Another object of the invention is to provide a sterilization system that provides the efficacy of a vacuum based sterilization system without the airborne pathogen drawback mentioned above.

[0011]Still another object of the invention is to provide a sterilization system that integrates material handling with the sterilization process, thereby reducing handling and pathogen exposure.

Problems solved by technology

Sterilization units that are based upon steam sterilization generally have a drawback of water condensation from the steam forming on the treated medical waste, which increases the weight of the treated medical waste and therefore the cost of the disposing of the treated medical waste in a landfill.

Sterilization units based upon a vacuum autoclave have the drawback of potentially pumping airborne pathogens out of the vacuum autoclave into the environment during a sterilization process.

This leads to potential contamination or alternatively to higher costs in providing filtration systems / ventilators for treating the airborne pathogens being pumped out of the vacuum autoclave.

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