GB2094150A

GB2094150A - Apparatus for disinfecting the ducts of flexible endoscopes

Info

Publication number: GB2094150A
Application number: GB8206346A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: WAPPLER INTERNATIONAL GmbH
Current assignee: WAPPLER INTERNATIONAL GmbH
Priority date: 1981-03-06
Filing date: 1982-03-04
Publication date: 1982-09-15
Also published as: DE3108574A1; GB2094150B; FR2501045A1; FR2501045B3

Abstract

Apparatus as described for disinfecting the ducts of flexible endoscopes by means of a circulating disinfectant liquid which is pumped by a circulation pump 10 from a vessel 5 for accommodating the disinfectant liquid and also the distal ends of the endoscopes into the ducts, which are connected by connecting means to an outlet of the pump, and flows back from the ducts into the vessel. The circulation pump is a flexible tube pump with two or more pump heads which are associated with respective interchangeable pump tubes of different diameter, one end of the said tubes supporting tube unions of different diameter for the endoscope ducts of corresponding different diameter, whereas the other ends are connected to the vessel containing the disinfectant liquid. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Apparatus for disinfecting the ducts of flexible endoscopes This invention relates to apparatus for disinfecting the ducts of flexible endoscopes using a disinfectant liquid.

For hygiene and safety reasons, flexible endoscopes have to be cleaned and disinfected after every examination. It has to be possible to carry out this work in a simple, quick and effective manner, so as to keep the outlay in the time, costs and labour as low as possible.

It has been proposed, for example in German Patent Specification No. 2540 263 and the Specification of German Utility Model No. 78 35 596, to construct containers or vessels, which accommodate the shanks of the endoscope to be disinfected, as tubular structures bent to a U-shaped form and filled with disinfectant or cleaning liquid. The particular disinfectant liquid concerned is pumped in accordance with a predetermined programme through the ducts of the endoscope by means of the integrated pump and flexible tube system. Since the disinfectant liquid circulated by means of a pump naturally takes the line of least resistance, when dealing with endoscopes having a plurality of ducts, which is generally the case, the largest-diameter duct is preferentially disinfected.It has also been found that, despite the provision of cleaning apertures, such U-shaped tubular structures can only by cleaned and disinfected with considerable outlay.

However, the most important disadvantage of such an arrangement is that the pump and flexible tube systems are fixedly built into a housing. Therefore the user cannot exchange any contaminated flexible tubes, connecting pieces, magnetically operated valves, pump diaphragms and similar parts without disassembling the arrangement, if he wishes to disinfect them.

It is an object of the invention to provide an arrangement for disinfecting a flexible endoscope which is simple in construction and easier to clean than hitherto, and in which, because of its construction, there is no risk of re-infecting endoscopes by infected parts of such a disinfecting arrangement.

According to the invention there is provided apparatus for disinfecting the ducts of flexible endoscopes, wherein a circulating pump is arranged for pumping a disinfectant liquid from a vessel adapted to contain the disinfectant liquid and the distal ends of the endoscopes into the ducts and from thence back into the vessel, and wherein the circulating pump is a flexible tube pump having two or more pump heads with which there are associated respective interchangeable pump tubes of different diameter, these tubes supporting at one end tube unions of different diameters for endoscope ducts of corresponding different diameters, the other ends of said tubes being connected to the vessel for the disenfectant liquid.

Preferably, a plurality of tubes is associated with a pump head of the flexible tube pump. The use as a circulating pump of a perse known hose or flexible tube pump with two or more pump heads, associated with respective interchangeable pump tubes of different diameter, permits the achievement of a surprisingly simple and reliable operation as compared with the hitherto only imperfectly attainable disinfection of the ducts of flexible endoscopes, since the pump output can be adapted to the different cross-sections of the endoscope ducts simply by interchanging the pump lines. Forced circulation is conveniently allowed by a bypass arrangement, so that endoscopes can be disinfected in an optimum manner both from the inside and from the outside. Since the vessel is preferably open above, it also can be cleaned and disinfected easily.

In particular, however, since there are no electromagnetic valves, pump diaphragms and similar parts, it is easy to carry out cleaning and disinfection of the pump, since this necessitates simply detaching the pump tubes and disinfecting them in known manner, for example within the present apparatus, or replacing them. Since up to four pump heads can be provided per drive outlet e.g. of a pump motor, it is possible to adapt the pump outlet in optimum mannerto substantially all commercially available endoscopes with ducts of varying crosssection and thereby completely to disinfect the ducts. Since the vessel is constructed to have a relatively small volume, only a small amount of disinfectant liquid is required also.The present apparatus is of such surprisingly simple construction that although purchase and operating costs are low it is possible to achieve a substantially long troublefree working life with optimum disinfecting results.

In order to enable the invention to be more readily understood, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate diagrammatically and by way of example an embodiment thereof, and in which: Figure 1 is a side view, partly in section, of apparatus for disinfecting the ducts of flexible endoscopes, Figure 2 is a plan view of the aparatus shown in Figure 1, Figure 3 is a front view of the apparatus shown in Figure 1, and Figure 4 is a diagram showing liquid flow circuits.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown apparatus for disinfecting and cleaning the ducts of flexible endoscopes. The apparatus comprises a container or vessel 5 mounted on a wheel chassis 4.

The vessel 5 is in the form of an open-topped U-section channel formed in a plate 6 serving as a substantially horizontal cover plate of the chassis, and has an outlet 7. Thus the vessel 5 is so constructed that only a relatively small quantity of relatively expensive disinfectant liquid is needed to cover fully the shank of an endoscope E.

As more particularly shown in Figures 1 and 3, a plate 8 arranged below the plate 6 on the chassis 4 carries a pump 10, and associated drive and control elements 24 needed for circulating a disinfectant liquid. The pump 10 is constructed as a flexible tube pump and comprises, at each of its respective sides, a pump head 11 and 12 to which respective interchangeable pump tubes 15 and 16 of different diameter can be connected. The ends of the pump tubes 15 and 16 support tube unions 19 and 20 of different diameter for the ducts of the endoscope E, these ducts not being shown. The other ends 21 and 22 of the pump tubes are connected via nipples to the vessel 5 containing the disinfectant liquid.If only one pump tube is required for the cleaning of an endoscope, the second pump tube, for example the pump tube 16, can be connected to a further tube nipple 17, and thus acts as a vessel bypass i.e. the disinfectant liquid contained in the vessel 5 is circulated directly by means of this pump tube.

The drive and control elements 24 for the flexible tube pump comprise a time switch 25 the actuation of which can switch-on the flexible tube pump for, for example, ten, fifteen or twenty minutes. After this time has elapsed the flexible tube pump is automatically switched off by the control elements which are not shown in detail. Of course, before the flexible tube pump is switched on, the particular endoscope E to be cleaned is connected by means of the unions 19 and 20 respectively to the pump tubes 15 and 16, and its distal end laid in the vessel 5 once the latter has been filled with disinfecting liquid.

As is particularly shown in Figure 2, the vessel 5 as seen in plan view has the shape of an oval with parallel sides. However, any other shape is also possible. It is also possible to have a plurality of vessels, situated for example side by side. Also, instead of the two pump heads 11 and 12 which are shown, it is possible to provide two or more pump heads situated adjacent one another on the same axis. The plate 8 may also support drawers, for example, to hold accessories. Moreover, Figure 2 shows quite clearly the supply tubes of the endoscope lying on a holder H.

It has been found advantageous to associate with the time switch 25 a signalling device 27 which indicates by an audible and visible signal when the programme is concluded. The audible and visible signals are necessary for drawing the programme end to the notice of the endoscopy personnel. A regulating element 28 is also provided for regulating the pump speed. The pump speed regulating element 28 is used for regulating the flow of the disinfectant liquid through the ducts of the endoscope. This regulating element is a second adjustment means for the throughflow through the different tube diameters. Finally, a reversing switch 26 is provided for reversing the direction of rotation of the pump motor. In this way it is possible to move the disinfectant liquid through the ducts of the endoscope either by pressure or by suction by reversing the direction of rotation of the pump motor, so that the liquid follows liquid flow circuits such as those shown in Figure 4.

As will be apparent from the foregoing, the use of open flexibletube pumps allows the user to disinfect or interchange all the tubes, connecting pieces and pump parts easily, so that there is also no longer any risk that such a disinfecting arrangement will cause any contamination.

Claims

1. Apparatus for disinfecting the ducts of flexible endoscopes, wherein a circulating pump is arranged for pumping a disinfectant liquid from a vessel adapted to contain the disinfectant liquid and the distal ends of the endoscopes into the ducts and from thence back into the vessel, and wherein the circulating pump is a flexible tube pump having two or more pump heads with which there are associated respective interchangeable pump tubes of different diameter, these tubes supporting at one end tube unions of different diameters for endoscope ducts of corresponding different diameters, the other ends of said tubes being connected to the vessel for the disinfectant liquid.

2. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 1,wherein a plurality of tubes is associated with a pump head of the flexible tube pump.

3. Apparatus for disinfecting the ducts of flexible endoscopes substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.