Decontamination of orthopaedic implants
AssigneeNew York Society for the Ruptured and Crippled Maintaining the Hospital for Special Surgery
InventorJames M. Carr
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Used or partially used orthopaedic implants or similar medical devices which have been in contact with animal tissue are decontaminated and made available for reuse by a three step process effective for removal of protein tissue, bone tissue, and lipids.
Claims19
A process for decontaminating the surface of a medical implant which has been exposed to animal protein and/or bone tissue, and thereby exposed to lipids and bone salts, which comprises the sequential steps of:
- (1) Immersing the surface in a bath containing a detergent suitable for emulsifying lipids at an elevated temperature, to remove lipids from the contaminated implant surface;
- (2) immersing the surface in a bath containing an acidic agent capable of removing bone salts, to remove bone salts from the contaminated medical implant surface;
- and
- (3) Immersing the surface in a hypochlorite bath.
A process for treating a roughened surface orthopaedic implant intended to be inserted into the human body and which has been contaminated with human protein and/or bone tissue, and thereby contaminated with lipids and bone salts, to make said implant reusable which comprises subjecting the implant to the following sequential steps:
- (1) exposing the implant to a bath comprising a detergent suitable for emulsifying lipids at an elevated temperature, to remove lipids from the contaminated medical implant surface;
- (2) contacting said implant with a dilute aqueous solution of nitric acid at an elevated temperature, to remove bone salts from the contaminated medical implant surface;
- (3) contacting said implant with an aqueous solution of sodium hypochlorite at an elevated temperature and conducting steps (1)-(3) while said implant is exposed to ultrasonic treatment in an ultrasonic cleaning unit;
- whereby said implant is sufficiently decontaminated to be reused as an implant for introduction into a human body.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.