Method and device for rinsing endoscope channels

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9649019-B2
Application number	US-201414210637-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 14, 2014
Priority date	Sep 15, 2011
Publication date	May 16, 2017
Grant date	May 16, 2017

Abstract

A method for rinsing endoscope channels of an endoscope with a rinsing agent from a rinsing agent supply. The method including: connecting a first endoscope channel to the rinsing agent supply via a first rinsing agent distributor, which has a testing device for checking an endoscope channel for a blockage; connecting at least one other endoscope channel to the rinsing agent supply via a second rinsing agent distributor; and checking the first endoscope channel for a blockage using a testing device and simultaneously rinsing the at least one other endoscope channel with rinsing agent from the rinsing agent supply. A device is also provided for rinsing endoscope channels of an endoscope with rinsing agent from a rinsing supply.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A device for rinsing endoscope channels of an endoscope with rinsing agent from a rinsing agent supply, wherein the device comprises:
a first rinsing agent distributor and a second rinsing agent distributor, each of the first and second rinsing agent distributors being connected to the rinsing agent supply;
rinsing channels connected to the first and second rinsing agent distributors for feeding rinsing agent from the rinsing agent supply into a respective endoscope channel,
a switching valve provided for each of the rinsing channels for connecting each of the rinsing channels in a first position of the switching valve with the first rinsing agent distributor and in a second position of the switching valve with the second rinsing agent distributor, and
a first testing device connected with the first rinsing agent distributor for checking whether an endoscope channel connected to the first rinsing agent distributor via one of the rinsing channels is blocked.

2. The device according to claim 1 , further comprising a second testing device connected with the second rinsing agent distributor.

3. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the first testing device comprises one of a flow meter or a pressure meter.

4. The device according to claim 2 , wherein the second testing device comprises one of a flow meter or a pressure meter.

5. The device according to claim 1 , wherein one or more of the first and second rinsing agent distributors is configured as a rinsing agent chamber or as a rinsing agent reservoir.

6. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the switching valves include an automatically controllable actuating drive.

7. The device according to claim 1 , wherein one or more of the switching valves includes a third position where a corresponding one of the rinsing channels is not connected to the first or second rinsing agent distributors.

8. The device according to claim 1 , further comprising a rinsing agent pump to supply at least one of the first and second rinsing agent distributors with rinsing agent from the rinsing agent supply under a specifiable pressure.

9. The device according to claim 1 , further comprising at least one pressure booster pump provided in a supply line from the rinsing agent supply to the first rinsing agent distributor.

Assignees

• Winter & Ibe Olympus

Inventors

• Noack Andreas

Classifications

• A61B2090/701

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

• A61B90/70 Primary

  Cleaning devices specially adapted for surgical instruments · CPC title

• A61B1/125 Primary

  using fluid circuits · CPC title