JPH0246361Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed explanation of the invention] a. Purpose of the invention (industrial application field) The steam sterilization indicator according to this invention is used to steam sterilize items such as patient clothes and surgical gowns in hospitals and various research facilities. It is used when sterilizing using a sterilizer, and is used to determine whether or not the inside of the object to be sterilized has been reliably sterilized.

(Prior art) In hospitals, etc., clothes and surgical gowns used by patients are sterilized to prevent nosocomial infections. This is carried out using a steam sterilizer as shown in the figure below.

This steam sterilizer has a bottomed horizontal cylindrical shape with one end opening at the front of the container 1 (left side in the drawing). A sterilization container is provided, which consists of an inner cylinder 2 and an outer cylinder 3 surrounding the outer peripheral surface of the inner cylinder 2, and the front opening of the inner cylinder 2 can be opened and closed by a lid 4 provided on the front side of the container body 1. .

When sterilizing objects to be sterilized such as clothes using such a steam sterilizer, steam is pulsed into the inner cylinder 2 which is evacuated to remove air from the objects to be sterilized. a sterilization process in which high-temperature saturated steam is sent into the inner tube 2 to sterilize the object to be sterilized, and a vacuum step in which the object to be sterilized wet by this saturated steam is dried.
A drying process is performed in which the inside is evacuated and then heated clean air is sent into the inner cylinder 2 in a pipe wound around the outer cylinder 3, which is repeated. During this time, the outer cylinder 3 is always filled with high-temperature water vapor to heat the objects to be sterilized during the vacuum process, to keep the inner cylinder warm during the sterilization process, and to remove heat from the objects to be sterilized during the drying process. Efforts are being made to accelerate the evaporation of moisture.

The steam sterilizer shown in FIG. 3 is relatively small, but the larger one has the inner and outer cylinders 2, 3 formed into rectangular parallelepipeds. However, the action itself is almost the same.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) By the way, when sterilizing objects to be sterilized using a steam sterilizer configured as described above, it is necessary not only to simply raise the temperature of the objects to be sterilized, but also to raise the temperature of the objects to be sterilized. It is necessary to bring the object into contact with saturated steam, but if the object to be sterilized is a textile product such as clothing, if the sterilization time is insufficient, simply filling the area around the object with saturated steam will not reach the saturated temperature. There are cases where water vapor does not penetrate into the inside of the object to be sterilized.

In particular, if the sterilization container is filled with too many textile items to be sterilized, the sterilization steam will not penetrate properly.
Poor sterilization often occurs in some areas.

In this way, if the saturated steam does not penetrate into the object to be sterilized, there is a high possibility that the bacteria living inside the object to be sterilized will not be sterilized and will continue to exist.

However, as mentioned above, after the sterilization process in which the inner cylinder 2 is filled with saturated steam, there is a drying process in which the objects to be sterilized are dried. At this stage, it is not possible to determine whether saturated steam has reached the inside of the object to be sterilized.

If you unknowingly reuse clothing that has been incompletely sterilized and has bacteria still living inside, there is a risk of infection from the bacteria, which is extremely dangerous. In order to avoid such risks, the sterilization time has conventionally been made longer than necessary, but this is not preferable because it wastes energy.

There is an indicator for determining whether sterilization steam has reached the inside of the object to be sterilized, such as the one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,114,349. If the sterilization steam is uneven due to overpacking of objects to be sterilized, judgment is made based on the degree of discoloration, and only an expert can make an appropriate judgment.

The steam sterilization indicator of the present invention is configured so that it can be easily determined by the presence or absence of discoloration whether or not steam has reached the inside of the textile object to be sterilized after the sterilization process is completed. This eliminates inconveniences such as.

b. Composition of the invention (means for solving the problem) The steam sterilization indicator of the invention is a transparent vapor-impermeable cylindrical film with open ends that can be opened at both ends, and a transparent vapor-impermeable cylindrical film that comes into contact with steam. A color-changing ribbon containing a substance that changes color when exposed to water is placed inside the cylindrical film, and a moisture-absorbing ribbon made of a moisture-absorbing material is placed between the ribbon and the openings at both ends of the cylindrical film. It is constructed by providing the surfaces in close contact with each other.

That is, as shown in FIG. 1, an indicator substance such as copper sulfate that changes color when it comes into contact with water is placed in the center of the inside of a cylindrical film 5 made of a transparent material that does not allow vapor to pass through, such as polyethylene. The impregnated color-changing ribbon 6 is placed in a state in which the outer peripheral surface of the color-changing ribbon 6 is brought into close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical film 5.
The color-changing ribbon 6 is impregnated with an indicator only when moisture reaches the inner center of the cylindrical film 5.
The color changes from the end side, and the extent of this color change can be confirmed from the outside of the cylindrical film 5.

Furthermore, the portion between the discoloration ribbon 6 installed at the center of the cylindrical film 5 and the openings at both ends of the cylindrical film 5 is made of breathable and hygroscopic material such as moisture-absorbing paper or gauze. The moisture-absorbing ribbons 7, 7 are provided in such a manner that the outer circumferential surface of each moisture-absorbing ribbon 7, 7 and the inner circumferential surface of the cylindrical film 5 are brought into close contact with each other, and the cylindrical film 5 is This serves as a resistance for the water vapor that has entered the inside to reach the discoloration ribbon 6.

Both ends of the cylindrical film 5 may be closed to prevent moisture from entering the inside of the cylindrical film 5 when not in use, and the closed portions at both ends are cut off when the indicator is used. do,
The inside of the cylindrical film 5 may be in a state where steam can enter.

(Operation) When determining whether or not the object to be sterilized has been reliably sterilized using the steam sterilization indicator of the present invention configured as described above, the procedure is as follows.

If both ends of the cylindrical film 5 are closed, the closed ends of the cylindrical film 5 are cut off using scissors or the like to allow steam to enter inside the cylindrical film 5.

The cylindrical film 5, in which steam can freely enter, is then placed into the inner cylinder 2 (FIG. 3) of the sterilizer together with the object to be sterilized, and sterilization is carried out in the same manner as in the normal case.

Inside the cylindrical film 5 placed in the inner tube 2,
As the sterilization process progresses, saturated water vapor enters from the openings at both ends, but due to the presence of the moisture-absorbing ribbon 7, this saturated water vapor does not immediately reach the discolored ribbon 6 in the center of the cylindrical film 5. .

In other words, the moisture-absorbing ribbon 7 provides resistance similar to the resistance that textile sterilized objects such as clothing have to the flow of water vapor, and is only used when saturated steam reaches the inside of the sterilized object. , so that the saturated water vapor reaches the color changing ribbon 6 containing the indicator.

Therefore, by checking whether the color-changing ribbon 6 has changed color, it is possible to judge whether saturated steam has reached the inside of the textile object to be sterilized.

That is, if the color-changing ribbon 6 is discolored over almost its entire length, it means that the saturated steam has reached the inside of the textile object to be sterilized and complete sterilization has been performed, and the color-changing ribbon 6 has not changed color at all. Tina Katari,
Or, if only a portion has changed color, this indicates that sterilization is incomplete.

For example, if the air inside the sterilization container was well removed, and the objects to be sterilized were evenly packed into the sterilization container in a good condition, resulting in complete sterilization, then Figure 2A As shown in the figure, the discolored ribbon 6 is discolored almost evenly from both ends, and the undiscolored portion 8
is present only in a very small part of the center of the color-changing ribbon 6.

Next, although the air inside the sterilization container was successfully removed, if the objects to be sterilized were packed unevenly, the discoloration ribbon 6 would discolor unevenly, as shown in FIG.

In addition, if the air removal inside the sterilization container is poor and the items to be sterilized are packed unevenly,
As shown in the figure, the discoloration ribbon 6 discolors only on one side.

Furthermore, if the sterilizer malfunctions, only a small portion of the color-changing ribbon 6 will change color, as shown in FIG.

Therefore, by visually observing the state of the discolored ribbon 6 of the indicator after the sterilization work is completed, it is possible to easily know whether sterilization has been completed or not, and if sterilization is defective, the cause thereof can be easily determined. It will be like that.

c. Effects of the invention Since the steam sterilization indicator of the present invention is constructed and operates as described above, it can be used to determine whether or not sterilization has been performed reliably at the end of sterilization work.
By visually observing the discolored range of the discolored ribbon, it is possible to know with certainty, and it is possible to avoid the risk of disease infection and the like due to reusing articles with bacteria still attached.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a front view showing the indicator for steam sterilization of the present invention, Figures 2 A to D are diagrams showing four examples of discolored ribbons of this indicator, and Figure 3 is a diagram showing the steam sterilization indicator of the present invention. Sterilizer 1
FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway side view showing an example. 1: Body, 2: Inner cylinder, 3: Outer cylinder, 4: Lid, 5:
Cylindrical film, 6: discolored ribbon, 7: moisture-absorbing ribbon, 8: non-discolored portion.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A color-changing ribbon containing a substance that changes color when it comes into contact with steam is placed in the center of the inside of a transparent vapor-impermeable cylindrical film that can be opened at both ends. A steam sterilization indicator comprising a ribbon made of a moisture-absorbing material between openings at both ends of a film, with the outer peripheral surface of the ribbon and the inner peripheral surface of a cylindrical film in close contact with each other.