Apparatus and method for adjusting a volume of a basin of a treatment apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11712321-B2
Application number	US-201916655649-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 17, 2019
Priority date	Nov 15, 2018
Publication date	Aug 1, 2023
Grant date	Aug 1, 2023

Abstract

An apparatus and a method for adjusting a void volume of a basin of a treatment apparatus are provided. A treatment apparatus comprising a basin and an expandable member are provided. The expandable member may be disposed in the basin. The expandable member may be configured to expand from a first state to a second state to adjust the void volume of the basin. A void volume of the basin when the expandable member is in the second state is less than the void volume of the basin when the expandable member is in the first state.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of adjusting a void volume in a basin of a treatment apparatus, the method comprising:
introducing a device into the basin of the treatment apparatus, the basin comprising the void volume which is suitable to receive the device and a treatment agent;
introducing a liquid treatment agent into the basin; and
adjusting the void volume to an adjusted void volume by at least one of expanding and contracting an expandable member positioned in the basin; and
treating the device with the liquid treatment agent, wherein treating the device comprises contacting the device with the liquid treatment agent to at least one of clean, disinfect, and sterilize the device.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising removing the device from the basin after treating the device by contracting the expandable member.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising heating the liquid treatment agent to a temperature in a range of 30° C. to 80° C.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising filling the basin with the liquid treatment agent to a volume up to the adjusted void volume.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein expanding the expandable member comprises filling a cavity of the expandable member with a fluid, and contracting the expandable member comprises removing the fluid from the cavity of the expandable member.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the treatment apparatus is an endoscope re-processor.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the device is an endoscope.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the liquid treatment agent comprises ortho-phthalaldehyde.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising immersing the device in the liquid treatment agent.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the expandable member contacts the device.

11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising circulating the liquid treatment agent within the basin.

Assignees

• Asp Global Mfg Gmbh

Inventors

• Omidbakhsh Navid

Classifications

• A61L2103/15

  Laboratory, medical or dentistry appliances, e.g. catheters or sharps · CPC title

• A61B90/70 Primary

  Cleaning devices specially adapted for surgical instruments · CPC title

• A61B1/123

  using washing machines · CPC title

• A61B2090/701

  for flexible tubular instruments, e.g. endoscopes · CPC title

• A61L2/18 Primary

  Liquid substances · CPC title