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US 12,742,593 B2Granted
Apparatus and method for detecting moisture in a vacuum chamber
AssigneeAsp Global Manufacturing GmbH
InventorsDoug Vo Truong, Todd Morrison
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of using a vacuum chamber to assist in detecting and removing moisture from an instrument having a lumen, e.g., an endoscope is disclosed. Second derivatives of pressure with respect to time are calculated and differences therebetween summed. These summations may be compared to a threshold value to determine whether residual moisture remains on the instrument in the chamber. The vacuum chamber may include a rack for hanging instruments having lumens, such as endoscopes.
Claims2
A sterilization system comprising:
- a chamber including:
- a power source;
- and
- an electrode disposed in the chamber;
- a pump connected to the chamber and configured to decrease a pressure in the chamber;
- a pressure monitor configured to monitor the pressure of the chamber;
- a reservoir connected to the chamber, wherein the reservoir contains a sterilant;
- and
- a control system in communication with the power source and the electrode to transform the sterilant into a plasma, and the control system is configured to store values of the pressure in the chamber and compute and compare values for second derivatives of pressure with respect to time to a threshold value to determine whether residual moisture is disposed on an instrument within the chamber.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.