Washer disinfectors for surgical equipment are having to meet increasingly stringent regulations, helped a little by the use of these valves
Labcaire Systems is a designer and supplier of endoscope washer disinfectors, and it relies on Burkert valves to ensure the safe and thorough cleaning of invasive medical equipment.
The stringent requirements of endoscopes demand that they meet highest levels of hygiene so the equipment used to reprocess them time and time again has to be failsafe.
Burkert Fluid Control Systems has been working for many years with Labcaire, to ensure its systems meet and even exceed these exacting requirements of instrument reprocessing.
Labcaire's latest designs not only offer flexibility so that they can handle whatever disinfection protocols the hospital chooses, but they also meet the latest medical guidelines in data recording.
The company supplies various types of washer disinfector, primarily to the UK but also to customers as far afield as New Zealand and Malaysia.
Each washer disinfector offers a facility to disinfect endoscopes typically used in hospitals.
Although Labcaire is continually building machines - the Autoscope Guardian - the team is invariably asked to adapt the design to meet the requirements of each new customer.
Operations manager Alan Windridge says: "We are rarely able to manufacture a machine before receiving an order for it, as the demand in the industry is so great." The units currently produced by Labcaire offer facilities for cleaning either two or four endoscopes at a time. Where traditionally steam has been used for reprocessing instruments, endoscopes are heat sensitive and therefore Labcaire's equipment has been designed for the use of cold chemical disinfectants.
The washer disinfectors then boast a unique feature that ensures that the operator is protected from the inevitable fumes that emanate from the chemical.
A wide range of Burkert valves has been incorporated into the design of the units to control both the use of water and chemical and their circulation through the endoscopes to clean internal and external pipework.
Alan says: "Wide varieties of chemicals are used for endoscope disinfection and we do not always know what each hospital will be using.
One of the challenges we faced recently was that one particular chemical used is not compatible with brass valves, so Burkert supplied stainless steel versions.
We now incorporate stainless steel valves as standard in our units to ensure they are always suitable for the disinfectant used." New regulations imposed upon hospitals now demand strict reporting procedures on endoscope reprocessing.
Labcaire has now incorporated a data logging system into its machines that records all variable parameters of a reprocessing cycle including which channels have been irrigated on an individual instrument. Alan says: "The information is recorded and a cycle printout supplied.
In addition, a built-in alarm system also alerts the operator to any problems with the reprocessing procedure. "Since the launch of the original Autoscope machine back in 1993, Labcaire has supplied over 1000 units to the NHS and private sector.
"Burkert was instrumental in helping us to develop our first machine and has continued to offer us the relevant expertise when it comes to advising us on the right valves for each new development in our technology and in overcoming difficulties along the way."
