Feature: Connectors


Addressing the


complexities of medical connectors


By the team at ODU-USA, Camarillo, California, the US I


n modern surgical suites, the basic patient parameters are continuously tracked and recorded, including heart rate (HR) – ECG, blood pressure, SpO2


saturation for oxygen levels, respiration rate, and


temperature, among others. Cables and connectors used with these measuring devices must then be either disposed of or sterilised aſter each use. It may initially appear that single-use, disposable assemblies are better because they pose no contamination risk and have lower up- front costs, since these criteria compare to costs associated with sterilising reusable equipment, which involves labour, time, storage, and sterilisation supplies and equipment. Tere are certainly some applications


where true single-use cables and connectors are more suitable. However, some single-use connectors can be low quality, unreliable, environmentally unfriendly or poorly designed for operation and reprocessing. Fortunately,


there are good quality connectors that offer a high number of mating cycles and can be sterilised many times over.


Environmental concerns Recent studies show that among other systems, such as HVAC for example, surgical instruments have a tremendously high environmental impact. And, it doesn’t take a scientific study to know that the waste of disposable products far exceeds that of reusable ones; see Figure 1. With sterilisation, aſter each completed


procedure, critical and semi-critical devices in and around the patient must be taken care of. Medical devices that have contact with sterile body tissues or fluids are considered “critical” items. If these items are heat resistant, the recommended sterilisation process is by steam, since this offers the largest margin of safety and is reliable and consistent in destroying contaminants. Tis approach to disinfection and sterilisation is commonly referred to as


40 July/August 2023 www.electronicsworld.co.uk


the “Spaulding’s approach”; see Table 1. However, it is not without problems. A research team at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wrote in 2019 that: “Te scheme does not consider problems with reprocessing of complicated medical equipment that oſten is heat sensitive, or processing an instrument in the semi- critical category, like an endoscope, used in conjunction with a critical instrument in contact with sterile body tissues.” Tere are other sterilisation methods


for different specialties, such as dry heat sterilisation in dentistry for example, which is much more common than steam heat or autoclave. Also, equipment sensitivity and products


with many parts, inaccessible areas and multiple layers may require using Ethylene oxide (ETO), a low-temperature gaseous sterilisation process. In summary, the most common methods


are: • Moist heat or steam (autoclave) or dry heat;


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60