Question

discuss  the future of sterile processing technology . (focus on  decontamination and sterilization) and cites 5 reference  sources

Answer 1

In recent times there is an increase in case system prevention processing as there is a large volume of infections and diseases which are rapidly spreading across the globe. A pandemic era like todays in year 2020 it has become absolutely necessary for the decontamination and sterilisation.

There are many organisations which are working on this The Joint Commission (TJC), the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), state health departments, the Centres for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and professional organizations such as the Association of peri-operative Registered Nurses (AORN), the International Association of Healthcare Central Service Materiel Management (IAHCSMM), the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC), and the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI).

Decontamination is a technique of cleansing an object or substance to remove contaminants such as micro-organisms or hazardous materials, including chemicals, radioactive substances, and infectious diseases. There are many techniques in this they are physical cleaning with sterilising chemicals or soap and water, water purification using various techniques, ultrasonic cleaning, disinfection chemical spraying, antisepsis and antiseptic solutions, the latest to be added is decontamination tunnels in which a medicated solution using heat and ultrasonic is broken down into vapours and sprayed onto the object or person moving inside the tunnel and causing disinfection.

Sterilisation is a process of making objects free from microbial / micro-organisms, this sterilisation is a bit harsher and cannot be used on living organisms unlike decontamination; sterilisation kills much higher number of micro-organisms when compared to decontamination. Physical methods include dry heat, steam, radiation, and plasmas. Radiation encompasses a variety of types, including gamma radiation, electron beam, X-ray, ultraviolet, microwave, and white (broad spectrum) light. Chemical methods include, for example, ethylene oxide, propylene oxide, chlorine dioxide, ozone gases, and a variety of chemicals in liquid and vapor form, such as glutaraldehyde, hydrogen peroxide, and peracetic acid.

The more recent one’s that are added into the sterilisation process are low temperature plasma sterilisation: a process in which Vaporized Hydrogen Peroxide is used to sterilise sensitive equipment’s, chemicotaxis method to kill virus: in this method the micro-organisms are trapped using binary fusion and then making them incompetent and cellular dynamic sterilisation: in this specific cells are harvested and allowed to bind with microorganisms making them contained, this is especially used for rubber items.