Patent ID: 8001645

Claim:
A scrub brush-sponge for treating a medical instrument, comprising: (a) a support surface; (b) a base; wherein: (i) the base has a respective bottom receiving a sponge and provided with at least one peripheral lip region, the at least one peripheral lip region extending upwards from the support surface and centering the sponge on the base, and wherein the peripheral lip has a plurality of hinge regions spaced from one another and each configured to increase flexibility of the base upon applying an external force to the base; (ii) the sponge is coupled to the base and provided with an inner surface, the inner surface defining a channel open away from the base and configured to receive a body of the medical instrument therein so that the inner surface of the sponge extends complementary to and is juxtaposed with a peripheral portion of the body of the medical instrument; (c) a flexible layer on at least a portion of the inner surface defining the channel; and wherein the channel has an inner substantially annular region and two outer substantially rectilinear regions opposing one another so that when no external force is applied to the sponge, the opposing rectilinear regions are spaced apart, and when the external force is applied to the sponge, the opposing rectilinear regions are displaceable towards one another so as to increase a contact area between the body of the medical instrument and at least one of the inner surface of the sponge and the flexible layer.