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Last week we discussed how Healthmark is strengthening our supply
chain efforts by bringing many product lines in house, reshoring
and reinvigorating supply. Some of the many products we manufacture in Fraser, Michigan are cleaning verification
products like the TOSI® and Sonocheck™.
The TOSI® (Test Object Surgical Instrument) is meant to be used with
the manufacturer's product. What you may not have heard, is that this test is meant to simulate cleaning of surgical instruments. The TOSI® is the only test of its kind that is designed to test your washer with a challenge that simulates stainless steel soiled
with dried blood. It is just like dried blood on a stainless steel surgical instrument. We mount the plate in a plastic holder with a graduated gap. This is just like the areas on a surgical instrument which are blocked from direct spray action, such as the
box locks. The routine use of this test will help indicate that your instrument washer is performing at a consistent level, enhancing the routine visual inspection of instruments. TOSI® complies with AAMI and AORN Guidelines as well as ASTM Guide D7225.
Another product we offer from our Cleaning Verification line is the
Sonocheck™. It is invisible to the human eye, but with the SonoCheck™ you can test for the presence of cavitation energy - the cleaning power of your ultrasonic cleaner. Ultrasonic cleaning is a result of sound waves introduced into a cleaning liquid by a
series of transducers. The sound travels throughout the tank and creates waves of compression and expansion. During the expansion wave, molecules of the liquid are pulled dramatically, ripping them apart. This creates microscopic vacuum cavities. As the pressure
around these cavities becomes greater, they collapse violently, forming voids - a process called cavitation. This creates extreme temperature and combines with the velocity of the liquid jet to deliver a very intense cleaning action in a minute area. Problems
such as insufficient energy, overloading, water level, improper temperature and degassing will increase the time needed for the color change. In the case of major problems the SonoCheck™ will not change color at all.
Be sure to use cleaning verification products routinely to help challenge
your reprocessing equipment.
Matthew Smith
Senior Manager of Marketing
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