A new product that manages, monitors and optimises washing processes for medical instruments has been launched by Andel Plastics, a medical packaging manufacturer based in Birmingham, UK and BIOtAK of Bristol, following six years of research design and investment in the product.
The plastic injection-moulded WASHtAK features a unique tAK enzyme strip, which sits within the wash chamber and is analysed straight after the wash using a barcode scanner with USB output for storing data.
The enzyme-coated strip provides a known starting load of enzyme, and the better the wash, the less enzyme will be present afterwards. As contamination from handling the test strip can alter results, a plastic hinged component houses the strip safely in the wash and dispenses the enzyme appropriately when required.
Using the easy dispensing method designed into the WASHtAK holder, the uncontaminated strip can be taken straight from the wash, then scanned and assessed within minutes. It allows users to know instantly whether the wash has been successful and the instruments are safe to use on patients.
To be able to assemble the enzyme strip into the new WASHtAK holder required a Class 8 cleanroom, and with the aid of a Business Innovation Grant, Andel Plastics invested in a cleanroom, which took three months from start to certification to build. The company already had a service level agreement in place for medical device packaging at the end of November 2014, and the new project for assembly with BIOtAK is now on line.
Andel Plastics also manufactures an endoscope holder called the LUMENtAK and plans a broader range of tAKs for chamber decontamination now the technology is proven.
