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Rapid cold sterilization of 3D printed surgical instruments for the austere environment
Andrew Francis1, James Williams1, Beau Prey1
1Madigan Army Medical Center, 9040A Jackson Ave, Tacoma, WA, 98431, USA.
Introduction:
Medical operations are vulnerable to global supply chain fluctuations. The ability to locally produce and reliably sterilize medical equipment may mitigate this risk. This project developed a reliable high-level disinfection process for 3D printed surgical tools.
Methods:
Surgical instruments and consumables were designed and printed from various materials. Devices contaminated with known and unknown bacteria underwent one of three cleaning methods followed by high-level disinfection using submersion in a Cidex OPA Solution. Devices were then cultured on blood agar plates and incubated for 48 h. Positive and negative controls were performed.
Results:
The results of control experiments showed no growth on negative controls and significant growth on all positive control plates. Of the three cleaning methods tested, one showed no growth: cleaning with isopropyl alcohol and chlorhexidine followed by Cidex bath.
Discussion:
This project successfully developed a rapid high-level disinfection process for 3D printed surgical instruments made from two different types of 3D printing material.
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