Ozonator for sterilizing, decontaminating, disinfecting, and/or sanitizing surgical instruments

Abstract

An apparatus and method for the use of ozone as a sterilant for many classes of surgical instruments which are at least partially metallic. Three features are the connection of a voltage carrying part of the instrument to be sterilized as the electrode of an ozone generating cell, which employs a glow discharge and maintaining the temperature of this electrode below 500° C., and that no solid dielectric exists between opposed electrodes in the ozone generating cell. Ozone is thereby localized about voltage carrying and any non-voltage carrying parts of the electrode connected instrument. The control of electrode heating helps to maintain the increasing atmospheric concentration of the ozone, which will however eventually reach a natural limit. Local heating of the electrode configuration is controlled where the instrument to be sterilized is connected at least periodically as the negative electrode.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.