First sterilization container with maintenance-free sealing system for flexible endoscopes from Richard Wolf

Richard Wolf launches the Sterisafe® DURO A3 on the market in November

 

Knittlingen/Düsseldorf, 22nd September 2010 - Medical instrument manufacturer Richard Wolf offers a significant advance in sterilization with the newly developed Sterisafe® DURO A3 sterilization container. This unit is manufactured entirely from a special high-performance plastic with the dimensions 450 x 292 x 87 cm (¾ STE). According to information provided by the manufacturer, Sterisafe® DURO A3 is particularly suitable for sterilizing large, high-quality delicate instruments, such as fiberscopes. The manufacturer maintains that Sterisafe® is therefore an attractive proposition for private urologists and ENT physicians as well as centrally organized sterilization departments.
“The innovative and pioneering Sterisafe® eliminates cost and time intensive outer packing for the container when sterilizing fiberscopes for which only open sterilization containers are currently available. The Sterisafe® DURO A3 dispenses with the standard silicone seals otherwise used in sterilization containers. These seals undergo wear and tear and therefore have to be changed on a regular basis. Instead, the Sterisafe® DURO A3 container comprises an upper and lower component that together form a reliable sterile barrier when they are joined together on the principle of a Pasteur loop. They are also completely maintenance free. This solution saves personnel resources and material costs,” explained Helmi Henn, Product Manager for Sterilization at Richard Wolf when outlining the benefits of the new development.
The development engineers were working to a specification that needed to ensure that an instrument in the Sterisafe® DURO A3 was firmly secured in position during the sterilization process, storage and transport because this unit was being designed for high-quality delicate instruments. Additional requirements included low weight, transparency of the container, easy handling and suitability for all standard sterilization procedures. The Sterisafe® DURO A3 is also stackable in order to restrict the space requirement for the sterile container as much as possible. When sterilization is carried out in the Sterrad® procedure using hydrogen peroxide and plasma, the instruments in the Sterrad® DURO A3 are must less affected by the sterilization process than when sterilized in the flexible packs widely used with this procedure. Standard sterilization containers made of aluminum and steel are particularly unsuitable for flexible endoscopes when this procedure is used.
The Sterisafe® DURO A3 was officially launched at the Annual Conference of the German Society for Urology held at the end of September in Düsseldorf. The unit will be available on the German market from November.
 
Press contact:
Richard Wolf GmbH
Press office
Pforzheimer Str. 32
75438 Knittlingen
Tel. (0 70 43) 35-305
E-Mail: pressestelle@richard-wolf.com
www.richard-wolf.com