Why Ultrasonic Cleaners Are Used in the Medical Industry

Since medical devices are often delicate and have high cleaning standards, industrial ultrasonic cleaners provide an ideal solution, offering gentle cleaning and complete removal of contaminants.

Medical devices that include surgical instruments and medical implants are used inside the body and are subject to extremely high standards of cleanliness and sterility. In addition, medical devices have complex structures that mean intricate surfaces, tiny crevices, dead-end holes and even inside slots and threaded holes.

Many medical devices cannot be exposed to heat, harsh cleaning chemicals and intense scrubbing which are typically used in traditional cleaning methods. Not only these methods costly and cause potential damage to medical devices, but they also do not guarantee that they provide complete cleaning.

Industrial ultrasonic cleaners rely on sound waves, which produce microscopic cavitation bubbles in the cleaning solution. The formation and collapse of these bubbles agitate the cleaning solution near the medical device surfaces to dislodge any dirt or contamination that may be present.

Low ultrasonic frequencies produce comparatively large bubbles with an intense cleaning action for rugged devices. High ultrasonic frequencies, on the other hand, produce smaller bubbles with a gentle cleaning action which is the frequency used to clean delicate parts such as medical devices.

No matter how complex medical devices are, once they are immersed in the cleaning solution, the microscopic cavitation bubbles are formed inside the tiniest crevices and dislodge any contaminants, cleaning down to the original surface. A complete cleaning is extremely important, especially for implants. If these implants still have leftover contaminants due to improper and incomplete cleaning, it could result in the rejection of the implants.

 While industrial ultrasonic cleaning systems effectively remove contaminants, they do not, by themselves, kill or eliminate bacteria. Thus, adding a sterilizing solvent to the cleaning solution helps the cleaning action process and the action of the cleaning bubbles heightens the sterilizing effect as well.

For more information read the complete article, “Why Ultrasonic Cleaners Are Used in Medical Industry”. Contact Kaijo for a free consultation or quote by email info@kaijo-shibuya.com or call 408–675–5575 to discuss your cleaning requirements.