Why the Integrated Sterilizer & Shredder?

17-01-2018

The healthcare system is designed to prolong life expectancy of patients and enhance their quality of life. Unfortunately, healthcare activities that aim to save lives lead to the generation of large amount of medical waste products. Of the total amount of medical waste products that are produced in each year, 85% of them are categorized as general non-hazardous waste, while the remaining 15% are known to be hazardous to human health.

In a report done in April 2017 by the World Health Organisation (WHO),it was found that the healthcare waste generated per hospital bed per day in the South East Asia region varies from 0.2 to 0.8kg/bed/day. On average, the medical waste production in the region comprised of eight countries is approximately 0.693kg/bed/day. Interestingly, it was also found that some developing countries do not have on-site treatment facilities. The statistical number is compared to other continents, where medical waste generation stands from 2.0 to 3.6kg/bed/day in the Europe and from 3.0-8.2kg/bed/day in the America continent.
As a matter of fact, many hospitals, clinics or other type of healthcare facilities from the developing countries do not conform to the disposal regulation set strictly by the local authorities. When harmful hospital waste are disposed outside of the hospital premises, it renders the risk of exposing infectious substances and imposes serious health threats to the population.

The non-hazardous medical waste mainly comprised of paper, plastic, glass and cardboard. On the other hand, biohazard medical waste can be further categorized into infectious, pathological, sharps, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, genotoxic and radioactive waste. Some medical waste examples in the latter category include swabs, bandages, syringes, needles, heavy metals, hard dialysis waste, contaminated drugs and vaccines and radiotherapeutic materials. The major sources of these healthcare waste are from hospitals, laboratories, autopsy centres, blood banks or nursing homes for the elderly.

These medical waste carry a substantial risk in transmitting infectious diseases such as HBV, HCV and HIV. In another study carried out by the WHO in year 2000, injections with contaminated syringes alone have caused 21 million cases of Hepatitis B virus infections, 2 million cases of Hepatitis C virus infections and at least 260,000 cases of HIV cases. The study also shows there is a considerably high percentage of healthcare activities distributed across 22 developing countries that do not follow proper medical waste disposal methods.

All the medical waste requires special handling and treatment to prevent the spreading of infectious diseases. In fact, the handling process is tightly regulated for this purpose. Medical technology advancement in recent years has allowed these waste to be disposed in a safe and effective manner. Most of the general medical waste is treated with a pressurized steam process known as autoclaving through a combination of heat, moisture and pressure. This causes infectious agents to be rendered neutral so that the waste is safe to be sent to the landfill.
Highly regulated hazardous medical waste such as pharmaceutical drugs or chemotherapy waste are not suitable for the autoclave process. These substances may need to be chemically altered and incinerated to prevent unwanted substances from leaking into the water supply.

The Celitron’s Integrated Sterilizer and Shredder (ISS) helps to ensure medical waste are properly and safely disposed. It is a patented automated medical disposal system that complies with the EU and WHO regulations. Celitron ISS technology utilises a highly pressured vessel to sterilize hazardous medical waste. This is followed by a shredding process carried out by the specialized cutting system before it is disposed as municipal waste.

As far as the loading process is concern, hospital waste is loaded into the chamber in the initial phase. The chamber door then closes and the cycle can begin. From here, the waste disposal cycle will begin by pressing a button on the full color touch-screen display. It proceeds on to subsequent phases from vacuum, heating, sterilization, exhaust phase to the final drying phase.

Once the waste disposal cycle are completed, the unloading process takes place. This process involves the removal of waste from the chamber. The waste is unloaded either directly into a waste holder bin or through a flexible tube, depending on the models.

Celitron ISS is available in different model units namely the ISS 25L, ISS AC 575 and ISS 500L. The units have major structural and functional differences ranging from chamber volume, maximum power, and loading and unloading methods. Hence, the Celitron ISS is catered for hospitals, clinics and laboratory of different sizes.
All Celitron ISS units are user friendly and easy to operate, therefore there is no need for special technical qualification. They can be operated around comfortably through a 5.7’ colour display to activate the sterilizing & shredding process. They are also environmental friendly in that the shredded waste is reduced up to 20-25% of its original volume after the shredding.

The Celitron ISS possesses cutting edge technology that enables getting rid of liquids through direct draining into the sewage system, causing it to have negative environmental impact throughout the length of its use. Another environmental friendly feature that it offers is that the sterilization process only releases steam. It does not involve the emission of chemical or other harmful substances. From economic perspective, the Celitron ISS units are cost-effective in the long term due to its inexpensive operation and maintenance.

Apart from that, the units inhibit a security function that automatically locks its chamber door to prevent unauthorised interruption when activated. The small footprint allows Celitron ISS units to work seamlessly with other medical facilities.
All in all, Celitron ISS offers an environmental friendly solution to help solve inappropriate medical waste disposal issues. As of now, more than 400 units have been sold worldwide in over 40 countries. It is truly a revolutionary innovation that harnesses the technology of tomorrow, brought to you today.