Informative Essay Example on Sterilizers (Autoclave)

Introduction

You may wonder how doctors and surgeons can use surgical instruments over time and repeatedly, well an idea of cleaning the instruments might have crossed your mind. That is right cleaning of instruments. But again, a question of how they are cleaned arises, knowing that it poses a risk to use the same instruments on different patients since we know it could transmit diseases. This is where we come across sterilizers or autoclave in hospitals. Something gets done to kill living organisms or sterilize these tools (Sanderson, 1978).

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The autoclave performs the same function as sterilizing materials. It is equipment or a machine that uses steam and pressure to attain and maintain a relatively high temperature that cannot any microorganisms' life (Jerge, Bruce and Karl, 1985). These microorganisms are commonly known to as germs. These are the viruses, parasites, bacteria, and fungi among others that cause infections in our bodies. Spores can get defined as the environment-resistant microorganisms, they tend to withstand severe conditions but get destroyed if the extreme conditions get maintained for an extended period.

The autoclave is made up of several components which are:

• Chamber - it is the main component of the steam autoclave, and consist of an outer jacket, and an inner chamber. Most of the hospital autoclaves get constructed with jacketed chambers which get filled with steam, and this reduces the time required to complete a sterilization cycle and also minimizing condensation in the chamber. Hospital and lab autoclave chambers vary in size (from100L to 3,000L). The inner chambers are always constructed of 316L or Nickle-Clad while the outer jackets are made with 304L,316L or Carbon steel (Plotino et al. 222).
• Control System - all automated or modern autoclaves get fixed with a controller interface. The control systems are a bit complex compared to those of household appliances. The cycle follows a given software procedure, and therefore autoclaves require some controls whether just simple "push button" system or a complex programmable logic controller.
• Thermostatic Trap - most of the autoclaves get made with a steam trap or thermostatic trap, which is a device that allows water and air to escape. Most of the traps are designed to open when the temperatures are past a certain point.
• Safety Valve - this is a final fail-safe feature on autoclaves in case all other electronic controls fail to react.
• Waste-water Cooling System - the autoclaves get designed with a system that cools the effluent as it enters to the drain piping. This is to avoid damages to the drain piping (Sanderson, 1978).

The autoclave works on the same principle of a pressure cooker. The door gets locked to seal the chamber while all the air inside the chamber gets replaced with steam. The steam then gets pressurized to attain a desired sterilization time and temperature, before releasing the steam to escape and the instruments are removed (Nichols, 1990). The sterilization process undergoes these three phases: purge phase - steam gets into the chamber and displaces the air, exposure (sterilization) phase - at this phase the steam is pressurized to attain the desired temperature and time, lastly is the exhaust phase - the exhausted valve opens, and the pressure is released, and the interior gets restored to its normal temperature.

Autoclaves are of importance as a hospital facility since they help in minimizing the cost of buying new instruments every time and then but instead the current ones get recycled by sterilization. They also enhance the smooth running of the hospital activities since instruments get easily sterilized. On the contrary, they may require some special operation skills since they pose a danger if not well operated considering the pressure at which they work (Bowen, 2006).

Conclusion

In conclusion, whether your using laboratory equipment, or autoclave to sterilize it is critical to understand the working process, and how it is changing with the change in technology. Over time technology advancements have seen changes in the ways and machines of sterilization which has made it deliver high performance and high-quality distillation and sterilization solutions.

Works Cite

Plotino, Gianluca, et al. "Experimental evaluation on the influence of autoclave sterilization on the cyclic fatigue of new nickel-titanium rotary instruments." Journal of endodontics 38.2 (2012): 222-225.

Jerge, Charles R., Bruce Frankel, and Karl Zoll. "Apparatus for organizing, sterilizing, and maintaining medical/dental instruments." U.S. Patent No. 4,541,992. 17 Sep. 1985.

Nichols, Robert L. "Medical instrument sterilization container." U.S. Patent No. 4,915,918. 10 Apr. 1990.

Hauze, Dennis R. "Sterilization, storage, and presentation container for surgical instruments." U.S. Patent No. 4,798,292. 17 Jan. 1989.

Sanderson, Roger S. "Sterilizing and storing medical items." U.S. Patent No. 4,105,407. 8 Aug. 1978.

Stone, Kevin T., et al. "System for sterilizing medical devices." U.S. Patent No. 5,732,821. 31 Mar. 1998.

Bowen, John G. "Methods and apparatus for sterilizing contaminated devices." U.S. Patent No. 7,018,592. 28 Mar. 2006.