Patent ID: 6610251
Filing Date: 2003-08-26
Classification: A61L

Abstract:
A method of sterilizing medical instruments in the sterilizing and cleaning equipment utilizing a supercritical fluid, wherein said method is characterized by the steps of:(1) connecting a pressure cleaning vessel and a vacuum chamber to each other by way of at least one connecting pipe in said equipment utilizing said supercritical fluid; (2) impregnating the objects to be sterilized, for a given period, in said supercritical fluid with which said pressure cleaning vessel has been filled; and (3) thereafter opening the connection between said pressure cleaning vessel and said vacuum chamber so as to generate sudden bubbling within said vessel as a result of a pressure difference; wherein thorough sterilization is achieved when said supercritical fluid having penetrated into bacteria and viruses explodes and destroys these organisms instantly by its power of vaporization and expansion; and wherein finish cleaning work is also achieved at the same time by the cleaning action of said supercritical fluid without any need of drying said fluid.