There are many different conditions that can result in challenges for patients to be able to breathe on their own and without specialized equipment. These breathing circuits are often very complex and include oxygen tanks, valves, tubes, and other components that can be extremely challenging to clean using traditional methods.
To make matters more complicated, this reusable equipment is often made of plastic. Not only does this provide a better option for the patient, but it is lighter and can be manufactured at a lower cost. Traditional types of cleaning processes, such as autoclaving, may not be suitable for the various plastics in use in the breathing circuit.
To avoid these issues and to provide cleaning throughout the interior of the breathing circuits, oxygen cleaning processes have been developed. These can include the use of specific types of specs. The specs include breathing gas, high-pressure oxygen, and medium pressure oxygen as well as those specially developed for specific applications.
The Effectiveness
The effectiveness of oxygen cleaning using ultrasonic technology is highly effective. As the breathing circuit is submerged in the cleaning bath and the liquid moves and completely covers all interior and exterior components, there is full coverage of the oxygen bubbles bursting on all surfaces to remove contaminants the complete system.
This is not only more effective, but it is also much faster than manually washing the components, completing the rinse of the circuit and then providing the additional disinfecting solutions. Additionally, with the use of ultrasonic technology, all surfaces of the breathing circuit are exposed to the cleaning power of the oxygen bubbles, ensure that surfaces are not missed or cleaned thoroughly.
The NIH (National Institutes of Health) recognizes ultrasonic cleaning as an automated option that is suitable for all breathing circuits. With full control offer the cleaning process it is much faster and more complete than manual cleaning.
