Method and apparatus for cleaning medical instruments and for detecting residue thereon

A method for cleaning a medical instrument and for detecting residue thereon, comprising:

• (a) obtaining a non-sterile or conventionally sterilized medical instrument;
• (b) loading said medical instrument into a deposition and/or analysis apparatus;
• (c) exposing said medical instrument to pressure below 100 hPa,
• (d) exposing said medical instrument to at least one gas reactive to the residue,
• wherein, during at least steps at (c) and/or (d), the residue is detected and/or quantified, by at least one sensor device, in at least a part of a gas flow evacuated from the deposition and/or analysis apparatus during steps (c) and (d) in an uninterrupted manner,
• wherein, in a condition that concentration of the residue detected and/or quantified at (c) and/or (d) exceeds a predetermined threshold, the medical instrument is reverted to a procedure of cleaning and/or sterilization by conventional methods, and
• wherein, in a condition that concentration of the residue detected and/or quantified at (d) pertains to a predetermined level, the medical instrument is subjected to disposal.