Solid Surface in Cath Labs

18 March

Jacob Walker | Inspired, Product Development, Thoughts | No comment

Clinical cleanrooms, like cath labs and operating rooms, adhere to the strictest cleaning and sterilization protocols in the entire hospital. Maintaining a sterile field is paramount for infection control and patient recovery. On top of cleaning standards, cath labs and other clinical cleanrooms are among the busiest in terms of patient flow, so quick turnover of these rooms is of utmost importance. In order for these rooms to keep patients safe and disinfect quickly, it is important to select specialty medical storage options that are both functionally efficient and cleanable. Solid surface fills the needs of the modern clinical cleanroom.

What Takes Place in a Cleanroom

There are three types of medical cleanrooms including medical research cleanrooms, medical device cleanrooms and pharmaceutical cleanrooms. For our purposes, we will generally be focusing on the medical device cleanrooms. As stated by Angstrom Technology in their article 3 Types of Medical Cleanrooms, “Medical devices are specialized products used to diagnose, treat, and cure patients… Because they come into contact with tissues and membranes, medical devices must be contaminant-free or able to be thoroughly sanitized to prevent the possibility of infection or other risks.”

Two common types of medical device cleanrooms include MRI and IR suites. Both of these healthcare suites must be easily cleanable while also looking aesthetically pleasing and comforting to patients, due to the fact that most patients in these suites will be awake while their procedures are taking place. Within an MRI suite patients get imaging through a non-invasive process using radio waves and a large magnet. Within IR suites minimally invasive procedures are done that deal with blood vessels and lymph nodes throughout the body. These can include;

Bone/tumor treatments
Biopsies
Joint aspirations/steroid injections
Gastrointestinal procedures

What is Needed Within an MRI/IR Cleanroom?

For both MRI and IR suites it is imperative that all surfaces are easily cleanable and accessible to staff members as well as infection resistant. With patients largely awake for their procedures, it is also important that as soon as the patient steps into the suite they feel put at ease by the design and quality of the pieces within the room.

With these ideals in mind, it becomes clear that acrylic solid surface is one of the most effective materials to use in fabrication for your medical cleanrooms.

Cleanable

Along with many other instruments, cath lab equipment and storage has to be sterilized before each procedure in order to keep patients and staff safe. With a non-porous and microbial-resistant surface, acrylic solid surface is able to be quickly cleaned again and again without damage while keeping bacteria at bay.

It also has incredible strength against hospital cleaning agents including bleach, quaternary ammonium compounds and accelerated hydrogen peroxide. With strength against both bacteria and cleaners, the patient turnover rate can be quick and easy with minimal stress.

Durable

With constant rotations of patients in and out of cleanrooms, furniture and the materials used must be able to withstand extensive cleaning and harsh chemicals. Wear and tear is also incredibly common within hospital environments due to quick movements, which means that the furniture must be able to handle a considerable amount of damage without needing to be replaced.

With solid surface you can feel secure in the fact that bumps or slams from carts of other materials will be damaging to the product and it will still look aesthetically pleasing within the room. In fact, the product is so resilient that we back it with a lifetime warranty.

Customizable

Within cath labs and cleanrooms there are numerous equipment and supplies that must be used. This includes catheters, sheaths, scopes and PPE equipment that all need to be easily cleaned and readily accessible for staff. At Shield, our method of fabrication with solid surface allows for customization of your product which means that the needs and flow of your specific healthcare center will be fully considered.

In every hospital and healthcare center, the safety of patient and staff is paramount, and we keep that in mind. With acrylic solid surface you don’t have to compromise functionality or safety for aesthetics, you can simply have it all.