CN106693009B - Atmospheric pressure flexible cold plasma jet endoscope sterilization device and method - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to the field of disinfection and sterilization in the medical industry, in particular to an atmospheric pressure flexible cold plasma jet endoscope sterilization device and method. The endoscope is immersed in a catheter-type sterilization area filled with atmospheric pressure flexible cold plasma jet, microorganisms on the surface of the endoscope can be killed by the atmospheric pressure flexible cold plasma jet, the catheter-type sterilization area is non-closed and independent of a plasma electrode discharge area, and the plasma electrode discharge area is used for generating flexible cold plasma jet. The method can change the size and shape of the catheter, and can realize sterilization of soft and hard endoscopes with different sizes without changing the electrode structure. The sterilization method does not need complex vacuum equipment, has low cost and high efficiency, does not need chemical reagents, has no pollution to the environment, and is a low-cost and high-efficiency green endoscope sterilization method.

Description

An Atmospheric Pressure Flexible Cold Plasma Jet Endoscope Sterilization Device and Method

technical field

The invention relates to the field of disinfection and sterilization in the medical industry, in particular to an atmospheric pressure flexible cold plasma jet endoscope sterilization device and method.

Background technique

Endoscope is an important medical device used to observe the lumen in human and animals, and has been clinically used in the diagnosis and treatment of many diseases. Before using the endoscope, it needs to be sterilized to prevent cross infection. A variety of methods have been used to sterilize endoscopes, such as high-temperature and high-pressure steam, ethylene oxide fumigation, glutaraldehyde immersion, and low-temperature plasma sterilization. Among them, the high temperature and high pressure steam sterilization temperature is relatively high, which is easy to cause thermal damage to the surface of the endoscope, and it is difficult to effectively inactivate some pathogenic microorganisms. The sterilization process of the ethylene oxide fumigation method requires a long period of ventilation, resulting in a long cycle time for the entire sterilization cycle. In addition, ethylene oxide is toxic, flammable and explosive. Once it remains or leaks, improper handling will cause safety accidents; therefore, there will be serious safety hazards in the use of ethylene oxide for sterilization. The glutaraldehyde immersion method generally needs to soak for more than ten hours, and the sterilization efficiency is low; and glutaraldehyde is strongly irritating, which may irritate the skin and mucous membranes, and cause human allergies; when the waste liquid is discharged, it will pollute the water body.

Low-temperature plasma sterilization uses active particles in the plasma to kill pathogenic microorganisms. It does not require chemical reagents during sterilization, has no pollution to the environment, has better treatment effects, higher efficiency, and less damage to the surface of the endoscope. An ideal method for sterilizing endoscopes. The literature (Zentralblatt fur Hygiene und Umweltmedizin 1993, 194(4): 380-391) provides a device and method for sterilizing endoscopes using hydrogen peroxide plasma, and the sterrad 100s endoscope sterilization system developed based on this It has been widely used all over the world. But this device and method need expensive and complicated vacuum equipment, the cost is higher, and in the actual treatment, it is necessary to evacuate first, inject hydrogen peroxide and then sterilize, so the sterilization efficiency will be reduced; in addition, this type of device is difficult to treat many Sterilize long or very thin endoscopes. There are no related reports on the method of using a relatively simple structure sterilization device and low-cost gas to sterilize endoscopes. In addition, if the plasma electrode discharge area and the sterilization area can be separated, the temperature of the sterilization area can be reduced, and the size of the catheter can be easily changed to adapt to endoscopes of different sizes, but the above-mentioned endoscope sterilization device has not yet been able to accomplish.

Contents of the invention

In order to solve the above-mentioned technical problems in the prior art that the plasma electrode discharge area and the jet sterilization area cannot be separated, and the endoscope cannot be sterilized in a short time under atmospheric pressure, the present invention provides a flexible cold plasma at atmospheric pressure. Method for Sterilizing Jet Endoscopes. Another object of the present invention is to propose a device with simple structure and low cost for sterilizing endoscopes with flexible cold plasma jets at atmospheric pressure.

In order to achieve the above object, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is: a method for sterilizing endoscopes with flexible cold plasma jets at atmospheric pressure, characterized in that the endoscope is immersed in a catheter-type sterilization area filled with flexible cold plasma jets at atmospheric pressure Inside, the microorganisms on the surface of the endoscope can be killed by the atmospheric pressure flexible cold plasma jet, and the duct type sterilization area is non-enclosed and independent of the plasma electrode discharge area, and the plasma electrode discharge area is used for for generating the flexible cold plasma jet.

The specific steps are: insert the endoscope into the catheter-type sterilization area, and the atmospheric-pressure flexible cold plasma jet generated in the plasma electrode discharge area enters and fills the catheter-type sterilization area, The endoscope achieves sterilization.

The working gas of the atmospheric pressure flexible cold plasma jet includes nitrogen, oxygen, argon, helium, air or a mixture of the above gases.

The discharge form of the atmospheric pressure flexible cold plasma jet includes one of bare electrode discharge, dielectric barrier discharge, and hollow cathode discharge.

The size and shape of the atmospheric pressure flexible cold plasma jet are determined by the catheter-type sterilization area, and the catheter in the catheter-type sterilization area can be adjusted according to the size and shape of the endoscope without changing electrodes and On the premise of the discharge area structure of the plasma electrode, the sterilization of soft and hard endoscopes of different sizes can be realized.

The material of the catheter includes polytetrafluoroethylene, PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate), quartz glass, silicate glass, PC (polycarbonate), PEEK (polyether ether ketone), PI (polyimide ), TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer rubber), the part used to place the endoscope is a horizontal or vertical or curved circular tube structure, and the length of the circular tube structure is 20- 1500mm, diameter 2-20mm.

The horizontal circular tube structure and the vertical circular tube structure are straight circular tube structures arranged horizontally and vertically respectively, and are suitable for sterilizing rigid endoscopes. The curved circular tube structure is vertically arranged and has The circular tube structure with wavy arc is suitable for sterilizing flexible endoscopes.

An atmospheric pressure flexible cold plasma jet endoscope sterilization device is characterized in that it includes a duct-type sterilization area and a plasma electrode discharge area that are independent of each other, and the duct-type sterilization area includes a space for placing an endoscope. In the conduit, there is an atmospheric pressure flexible cold plasma jet for immersing and sterilizing the endoscope. The upper end of the conduit is provided with an exhaust hole. In the discharge area of the plasma electrode, the working gas of the atmospheric pressure flexible cold plasma jet It is emitted from the working gas source and passes through the pressure reducing valve and the adjustable flow meter in turn, and then enters the cold plasma jet generator. The outlet of the cold plasma jet generator is connected to the conduit, and the corresponding electrodes of the cold plasma jet generator are respectively connected to the high voltage power supply. output terminal.

The outlet diameter of the cold plasma jet generator is 2-6mm, and the discharge form of the corresponding electrode includes one of bare electrode type, dielectric barrier type, and hollow cathode type.

The high-voltage power supply is one of high-voltage DC power supply, high-voltage radio frequency power supply, microwave power supply, high-voltage low-frequency AC power supply, and high-voltage pulse power supply, and the output voltage is 0-10kV.

The material of the catheter is polytetrafluoroethylene, PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate), quartz glass, silicate glass, PC (polycarbonate), PEEK (polyether ether ketone), PI (polyimide ), TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer rubber), the part used to place the endoscope is a horizontal or vertical or curved circular tube structure, and the length of the circular tube structure is 20-1500mm, The diameter is 2-20mm.

The horizontal circular tube structure and the vertical circular tube structure are straight circular tube structures arranged horizontally and vertically respectively, and are suitable for sterilizing rigid endoscopes.

The curved circular tube structure is a vertically arranged circular tube structure with a wavy arc, which is suitable for sterilizing flexible endoscopes.

The radius of the circle corresponding to the radian of the wave is 20-200 mm, and the central angle is 30-90 degrees.

The working gas is one or a mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, argon, helium, and air.

The working gas enters the cold plasma jet generator at a flow rate of 10-40 L/min.

The benefits of the present invention are:

(1) The flexible cold plasma jet contains a large number of active particles such as high-speed electrons, ions, strong oxidizing atoms, excited molecules and free radicals, which have high chemical activity and can oxidize the protein chains in microorganisms in a short time. Amino sugar, kills microorganisms, achieves no chemical reagents, high-efficiency sterilization;

(2) This method can be sterilized by using different working gases. If necessary, you can choose gases with relatively low oxidizing properties such as nitrogen, helium, etc. to avoid aging of endoscope rubber during the sterilization process;

(3) There is a certain distance between the flexible cold plasma jet sterilization area of the submerged endoscope and its plasma electrode discharge area, and its macroscopic temperature is as low as room temperature, which will not cause thermal damage to the endoscope;

(4) This method can sterilize soft and hard endoscopes of different sizes by changing the size and shape of the catheter without changing the electrode and discharge area structure;

(5) This method does not require complex vacuum equipment, and nitrogen can be used for sterilization. The cost is relatively low, the operation is simple and flexible, and there is no pollution to the environment. It is a low-cost, high-efficiency green sterilization method.

Description of drawings

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an atmospheric pressure flexible cold plasma jet endoscope sterilization device for sterilizing rigid endoscopes (catheter horizontal).

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of an atmospheric pressure flexible cold plasma jet endoscope sterilization device for sterilizing a rigid endoscope (catheter vertical).

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of an atmospheric pressure flexible cold plasma jet endoscope sterilization device for sterilizing a soft endoscope (catheter bending type).

Figure 4 is a diagram of the colonies on the surface of the endoscope before and after sterilization by the flexible cold plasma jet under the microscope.

In the figure: 1-working gas source; 2-pressure reducing valve; 3-adjustable flow meter; 4-cold plasma jet generator; 5-high voltage power supply; 6-catheter; 7-endoscope; 8-atmospheric pressure flexible Cold plasma jet; 9-exhaust hole; (a), (b) are colonies before sterilization; (c), (d) are colonies after 1 min of sterilization.

Implementation

The present invention will be described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to specific embodiments.

Example 1

As shown in Figure 1, an atmospheric pressure flexible cold plasma jet endoscope sterilization device includes a duct-type sterilization area and a plasma electrode discharge area that are independent of each other. The conduit 6 of the mirror 7, there is an atmospheric pressure flexible cold plasma jet 8 for submerging and sterilizing the endoscope 7 in the conduit 6, the upper end of the conduit 6 is provided with an exhaust hole 9, in the plasma electrode discharge area, The working gas of the atmospheric pressure flexible cold plasma jet 8 is emitted from the working gas source 1 and passes through the pressure reducing valve 2 and the adjustable flow meter 3 in sequence, and then enters the cold plasma jet generator 4, and the outlet of the cold plasma jet generator 4 is connected to The conduit 6 and the corresponding electrodes of the cold plasma jet generator 4 are respectively connected to the output end of the high voltage power supply 5 .

The outlet diameter of the cold plasma jet generator 4 is 4mm, and the discharge form of the corresponding electrode is bare electrode type.

The high-voltage power supply 5 is a high-voltage low-frequency AC power supply with a frequency of 30kHz-100kHz, an output voltage of 0-10kV, and a maximum power of 500W.

The material of the catheter 6 is PMMA, and the part for placing the endoscope 7 is a horizontal circular tube structure, and the horizontal circular tube structure is a straight circular tube structure arranged horizontally, and the length of the circular tube structure is It is 320mm and the diameter is 10mm.

Example 2

A method for sterilizing an endoscope with an atmospheric pressure flexible cold plasma jet, in which the endoscope is immersed in a catheter-type sterilization area filled with an atmospheric pressure flexible cold plasma jet, and microorganisms on the surface of the endoscope can be sterilized by the atmospheric pressure flexible cold plasma Body jet killing, the duct type sterilization area is non-enclosed and independent of the plasma electrode discharge area, and the plasma electrode discharge area is used to generate the flexible cold plasma jet. In this embodiment, the device described in Embodiment 1 is used to realize the above method. In this embodiment, the endoscope is a cystoscope with a length of 305 mm and a diameter of 4 mm. It is a rigid endoscope, and the working gas has a purity of 99.999%. % of high-purity nitrogen, the specific steps are as follows:

Step 1: Connect the various parts of the device as described in Example 1:

Step 2: Slowly insert the endoscope 7 to be sterilized into the catheter 6;

Step 3: Open the pressure reducing valve 2, adjust the adjustable flow meter 3 to 20 L/min, and smoothly pass nitrogen gas into the cold plasma jet generator 4. The cold plasma jet generator 4 uses a bare electrode discharge form. The plasma jet generated in the form of discharge will not cause breakdown discharge with conductors such as metals, and the macroscopic temperature is room temperature, so there is no special requirement for the insulation and heat resistance of the catheter 6, endoscope 7, etc.;

Step 4: Turn on the high-voltage power supply 5, adjust the output frequency to 60.0 kHz, generate the atmospheric pressure flexible cold plasma jet 8 in the cold plasma jet generator 4, and gradually increase the output voltage from zero until the atmospheric pressure flexible cold plasma jet 8 is full The conduit 6 is discharged through the exhaust hole 9. At this time, the endoscope 7 is completely immersed in the atmospheric pressure flexible cold plasma jet 8 to realize sterilization.

Figure 4 shows the colonies on the surface of the endoscope before and after the flexible cold plasma jet sterilization under the microscope; (a) and (b) are the colonies before sterilization, (c) and (d) are the colonies after 1 min of sterilization, you can see It was found that after 1 minute of treatment, most of the bacteria were killed, and the sterilization effect was remarkable.

Example 3

As shown in Figure 2, an atmospheric pressure flexible cold plasma jet endoscope sterilization device includes a duct-type sterilization area and a plasma electrode discharge area that are independent of each other. The conduit 6 of the mirror 7, there is an atmospheric pressure flexible cold plasma jet 8 for submerging and sterilizing the endoscope 7 in the conduit 6, the upper end of the conduit 6 is provided with an exhaust hole 9, in the plasma electrode discharge area, The working gas of the atmospheric pressure flexible cold plasma jet 8 is emitted from the working gas source 1 and passes through the pressure reducing valve 2 and the adjustable flow meter 3 in sequence, and then enters the cold plasma jet generator 4, and the outlet of the cold plasma jet generator 4 is connected to The conduit 6 and the corresponding electrodes of the cold plasma jet generator 4 are respectively connected to the output end of the high voltage power supply 5 .

The outlet diameter of the cold plasma jet generator 4 is 2mm, and the discharge form of the corresponding electrodes is a dielectric barrier type.

The high-voltage power supply 5 is a high-voltage radio frequency power supply with a frequency of 2MHz-41MHz, an output voltage of 0-10kV, and a maximum power of 300W.

The material of the catheter 6 is quartz glass, and the part for placing the endoscope 7 is a vertical circular tube structure, and the vertical circular tube structure is a vertically arranged straight circular tube structure, and the circular tube structure The length is 200mm and the diameter is 6mm.

Example 4

A method for sterilizing an endoscope by using the device described in Embodiment 3. In this embodiment, the endoscope is a sinus mirror with a length of 180 mm and a diameter of 2.7 mm, which is a rigid endoscope. The gas is high-purity helium with a purity of 99.999%. The specific steps are as follows:

Step 1: Connect the various parts of the device as described in Example 3:

Step 2: Slowly insert the endoscope 7 to be sterilized into the catheter 6;

Step 3: Open the pressure reducing valve 2, adjust the adjustable flow meter 3 to 12 L/min, and smoothly pass the helium gas into the cold plasma jet generator 4. The cold plasma jet generator 4 uses a dielectric barrier discharge form, The concentration of plasma active particles generated by this discharge form is higher, and the sterilization efficiency is also higher;

Step 4: Turn on the high-voltage power supply 5, adjust the output frequency to 13.56MHz, generate the atmospheric pressure flexible cold plasma jet 8 in the cold plasma jet generator 4, and gradually increase the output voltage from zero until the atmospheric pressure flexible cold plasma jet 8 is full The catheter 6 is discharged through the exhaust hole 9. At this time, the endoscope 7 is completely immersed in the atmospheric pressure flexible cold plasma jet 8, and the sterilization effect similar to that in Example 2 is achieved.

Example 5

As shown in Figure 3, an atmospheric pressure flexible cold plasma jet endoscope sterilization device includes a duct-type sterilization area and a plasma electrode discharge area that are independent of each other. The conduit 6 of the mirror 7, there is an atmospheric pressure flexible cold plasma jet 8 for submerging and sterilizing the endoscope 7 in the conduit 6, the upper end of the conduit 6 is provided with an exhaust hole 9, in the plasma electrode discharge area, The working gas of the atmospheric pressure flexible cold plasma jet 8 is emitted from the working gas source 1 and passes through the pressure reducing valve 2 and the adjustable flow meter 3 in sequence, and then enters the cold plasma jet generator 4, and the outlet of the cold plasma jet generator 4 is connected to The conduit 6 and the corresponding electrodes of the cold plasma jet generator 4 are respectively connected to the output end of the high voltage power supply 5 .

The exit diameter of the cold plasma jet generator 4 is 6 mm, and the discharge form of the corresponding electrode is a hollow cathode type.

The high-voltage power supply 5 is a microwave power supply with a frequency of 500MHz-5GHz, an output voltage of 0-10kV, and a maximum power of 500W.

The material of the catheter 6 is polytetrafluoroethylene, and the part used to place the endoscope 7 is a curved circular tube structure, and the curved circular tube structure is a circular tube arranged vertically with a wavy arc. structure, the radius of the circle corresponding to the wave-shaped radian is 100mm, the central angle is 45 degrees, the length of the circular tube structure is 1500mm, and the diameter is 20mm.

Example 6

A method for sterilizing an endoscope using the device described in Example 5. In this embodiment, the endoscope is a gastroscope with a working length of 1100 mm and a diameter of 5.9 mm, and is a soft endoscope. The working gas is a mixture of helium and oxygen, and the volume fraction of oxygen is 1%. The specific steps are as follows:

Step 1: Connect the various parts of the device as described in Example 5:

Step 2: Slowly insert the endoscope 7 to be sterilized into the catheter 6;

Step 3: Open the pressure reducing valve 2, adjust the adjustable flow meter 3 to 35 L/min, and smoothly pass the mixed gas into the cold plasma jet generator 4. The cold plasma jet generator 4 uses a hollow cathode discharge form, The discharge form is glow discharge, which has a higher particle density;

Step 4: Turn on the high-voltage power supply 5 and adjust the output frequency to 2.4GHz. The cold plasma jet generator 4 generates an atmospheric pressure flexible cold plasma jet 8, and gradually increases the output voltage from zero until the atmospheric pressure flexible cold plasma jet 8 fills the conduit 6, and discharged through the exhaust hole 9. At this time, the endoscope 7 is completely immersed in the atmospheric pressure flexible cold plasma jet 8, and the sterilization effect similar to that in Embodiments 2 and 4 is achieved.

Claims (1)

1. An atmospheric pressure flexible cold plasma jet endoscope sterilization method is characterized in that an endoscope is immersed in a conduit type sterilization area filled with atmospheric pressure flexible cold plasma jet, microorganisms on the surface of the endoscope can be killed by the atmospheric pressure flexible cold plasma jet, the conduit type sterilization area is non-closed and independent of a plasma electrode discharge area, and the plasma electrode discharge area is used for generating the flexible cold plasma jet;

the method comprises the following specific steps: inserting the endoscope into the catheter sterilization zone, and enabling the atmospheric pressure flexible cold plasma jet generated in the plasma electrode discharge zone to enter and fill the catheter sterilization zone to sterilize the endoscope;

the working gas of the atmospheric flexible cold plasma jet comprises nitrogen, oxygen, argon, helium, air or the mixed gas of the above gases; the working gas enters a cold plasma jet generator at a flow rate of 10-40L/min;

the discharge form of the atmospheric pressure flexible cold plasma jet comprises one of bare electrode discharge, dielectric barrier discharge and hollow cathode discharge;

the size and the shape of the atmospheric flexible cold plasma jet flow are determined by the catheter type sterilization area, the catheter of the catheter type sterilization area can be adjusted according to the size and the shape of the endoscope, and the sterilization of soft and hard endoscopes with different sizes can be realized on the premise of not changing the structures of the electrode and the plasma electrode discharge area;

the catheter is made of one of polytetrafluoroethylene, polymethyl methacrylate, quartz glass, silicate glass, polycarbonate, polyether-ether-ketone, polyimide and thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer rubber, and is used for placing the endoscope, wherein the part of the catheter is of a horizontal or vertical or curved circular tube structure, the length of the circular tube structure is 20-1500mm, and the diameter of the circular tube structure is 2-20mm;

the horizontal circular tube structure and the vertical circular tube structure are respectively a straight circular tube structure which is arranged horizontally and vertically and is suitable for sterilizing the hard endoscope, the bending circular tube structure is a circular tube structure which is arranged vertically and has a wave-shaped radian and is suitable for sterilizing the soft endoscope, the radius of a circle corresponding to the wave-shaped radian is 20-200 mm, and the central angle is 30-90 degrees;

the atmospheric pressure flexible cold plasma jet endoscope sterilization device adopted by the sterilization method is characterized by comprising a catheter type sterilization area and a plasma electrode discharge area which are mutually independent, wherein the catheter type sterilization area comprises a catheter (6) used for placing an endoscope (7), an atmospheric pressure flexible cold plasma jet (8) used for immersing and sterilizing the endoscope (7) exists in the catheter (6), an exhaust hole (9) is formed in the upper end of the catheter (6), working gas of the atmospheric pressure flexible cold plasma jet (8) is emitted by a working gas source (1) in the plasma electrode discharge area and sequentially passes through a pressure reducing valve (2) and an adjustable flowmeter (3) and then is introduced into a cold plasma jet generator (4), an outlet of the cold plasma jet generator (4) is connected with the catheter (6), and corresponding electrodes of the cold plasma jet generator (4) are respectively connected with the output end of a power supply (5);

the diameter of the outlet of the cold plasma jet generator (4) is 2-6mm, and the discharge form of the corresponding electrode comprises one of a bare electrode type, a dielectric barrier type and a hollow cathode type;

the high-voltage power supply (5) is one of a high-voltage direct-current power supply, a high-voltage radio-frequency power supply, a microwave power supply, a high-voltage low-frequency alternating-current power supply and a high-voltage pulse power supply, and the output voltage is 0-10kV;

the high-voltage low-frequency alternating current power supply has the frequency of 30kHz-100kHz and the maximum power of 500W; the high-voltage radio frequency power supply has the frequency of 2MHz-41MHz and the maximum power of 300W; the microwave power supply has the frequency of 500MHz-5GHz and the maximum power of 500W.

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