Research Project: Cleanability of Reusable Medical Devices

Reusable medical devices like arthroscopic shavers and suctioning devices need to be cleaned and resterilized between patients. The design of a medical device can greatly influence its ability to trap blood, tissue, and other debris that can make cleaning and subsequent resterilization difficult or impossible. The goal of this project is to investigate specific device features that increase the likelihood that debris will be trapped and make cleaning difficult. Model devices will be soiled with an appropriate test soil. Cleaning is then validated by measuring the physical removal of that soil through quantitative measurements of residual components like total organic carbon (TOC), total protein, and hemoglobin level.