Basic Maintenance Guide for Ophthalmic Devices

Ophthalmic medical devices are used by eye-care professionals in order to fulfill a medical purpose. These devices are categorized into non-invasive devices, invasive devices, implantable devices, surgical devices, and instruments often used in the diagnosis. contact lenses, surgical instruments, contact lens care products, lasers, intraocular lenses, phacoemulsification systems, etc., are all types of ophthalmic devices.

Eye care professionals are often required to protect their equipment in order to offer safe services to the staff. Furthermore, it is necessary to clean your devices to prevent your patients from other diseases and infections. Here is the complete guide to disinfecting, cleaning, and offering complete maintenance to your equipment.

How to Disinfect your Equipment

Disinfecting the equipment is one of the necessary steps to ensure secure services to the patients. Follow these steps to perform the disinfection process.

If your equipment is attached to the power sources, disconnect it.

Now take a clean cloth. Slowly wipe the outer surfaces. Use 70% IPA/water solution to do the cleaning.

Carefully prevent the instrument from excess solution.

Once completed, dry the surface with a clean cloth.

While disinfecting your equipment, you can also prefer antimicrobial wipes for cleaning up the frames and equipment. Moreover, be sure of the quality of the wipes are secure enough that they don’t damage the equipment. However, check the quality of the wipes as some microbial wipes are not safe to use. Some wipes contain an extra amount of active ingredients, such as alcohol which may be inconvenient for cleaning.

Wear PPE

Disinfecting is one of the crucial processes which needs to be done with all safety. Wear PPE, such as gloves, mask, eye protection, and apron while cleaning up the equipment.

Maintenance Process:

Every piece of equipment requires proper maintenance. Ophthalmic devices also needs proper maintenance to combat the chances of early damage. Let’s dive deeper into the steps to offer basic maintenance to the devices.

The aim of preventative maintenance is to protect the device from breakdowns. Maintenance ensures the smooth functioning and safety of the equipment. Apart from that, properly maintained equipment are often accurate and reliable to use. Therefore, follow these steps to offer preventative maintenance to your equipment.

Preventative maintenance requires continuous cleaning and checks. Equipment users can be trained to perform these tasks. In addition to that, service providers, such as clinics and hospitals, can hire a repair team to perform these tasks with efficiency. Let’s discuss what things are required in the preventive maintenance of the equipment.

Cleaning and Lubrication:

Proper schedules are needed to be made in order to perform cleaning. Equipment users, including staff, can perform these tasks if they are properly trained. Cleaning of the equipment requires regular dusting, cleaning, lubricating, protecting, etc. For instance, lenses need to be covered when they are not in use. Moreover, humidity can result in fungal growth on lenses, which can be harmful to the patients. Thus, this way you can clean your equipment properly. You can also use a dehumidifier to protect the room from humidity.

Users can use Petroleum jelly (Vaseline) or white grease for effective lubrication. Silicone spray is also useful for parts made up of sliding plastic or nylon.

Safety Checks:

Safety checks as essential to check if your instrument is working properly. You can check the working of bulbs and wires. In addition to that, laser machines and vitrectors are equipped with wires and optical fibers. These wires have delicate interiors which can easily get damaged. Moreover, the fibers also carry power or electricity, which may lead to excessive heating after regular use. Thus, it is essential to perform a safety check to prevent the equipment from further damage.

Moreover, lasers, Bench-top autoclaves, microscopes, and slit lamps can get damaged due to excessive electricity. In such instances, a voltage stabilizer or regulator can help users by protecting equipment against damage. An uninterrupted power supply (UPS) unit ensures the operational efficiency of the equipment such as lasers, A-scans, visual field analyzers, etc.

Functional and performance checks:

Check the equipment regularly, if it is performing with the same efficiency or not. Users can perform regular checks regularly. Moreover, the healthcare providers also need to schedule a day for the extra performance checks by service agents.

Maintenance Tasks:

The basic maintenance task includes changing bulbs, lubricating moving parts, etc. In addition, skilled workers can check what screw needs to be tightened and the working of electrical connections.

Other Tips to Follow

It is essential to avoid contact with puff lens tubes and other surfaces while disinfecting the equipment. For more protection, always use gloves and an apron.

Always use the right tools to check the efficiency of parts. Avoid using heavy tools, such as hammers, pliers, etc., which may damage your equipment.

Don’t pull the cord instead of a plug, as cords are sensitive and can be damaged easily. Check every piece of equipment if it is plugged in properly. Moreover, prevent the cord from water and other harmful exposure as it can lead to damage.

Use damage-proof containers for safe transportation.

Always carry a stock of light bulbs, fuses, and screwdrivers to maintain the proper functioning of the equipment.

Conclusion

According to a study by Astute Analytica, the global ophthalmic devices market is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.5% in terms of revenue during the forecast period from 2022 to 2027.

This section offers information related to the basic maintenance procedure of ophthalmic devices. Apart from that, various other precautionary tips are also mentioned in this content.

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