Apparatus for rendering medical materials safe
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An apparatus for rendering infectious medical material harmless, comprising:
- a radio-frequency treatment unit for accepting medical material to be treated;
means for transporting infectious medical material in closed bulk containers through the radio-frequency treatment unit;
means for energizing the radio-frequency treatment unit with the time-varying electric field having a frequency below the frequency of microwave; and
means for injecting inert gas into the radio-frequency unit thereby to sweep oxygen therefrom to avoid oxidizing heated medical material and to cause a flow of gas from a relatively cool portion of the radio-frequency treatment unit to a relatively warm portion and thereby to prevent any vapor which might have escaped from the medical material from condensing on cooler medical material entering the radio-frequency treatment unit.
11 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Infectious medical materials are rendered harmless by heating heterogeneous medical materials having wet and dry portions with a radio-frequency electric field. The medical materials may be comminuted prior to heating. The medical materials are exposed to the radio-frequency electric field in order to heat the medical materials. The medical materials may include sorted medical or veterinary waste which after heat treatment may be recycled.
108 Citations
1 Claim
-
1. An apparatus for rendering infectious medical material harmless, comprising:
-
a radio-frequency treatment unit for accepting medical material to be treated; means for transporting infectious medical material in closed bulk containers through the radio-frequency treatment unit; means for energizing the radio-frequency treatment unit with the time-varying electric field having a frequency below the frequency of microwave; and means for injecting inert gas into the radio-frequency unit thereby to sweep oxygen therefrom to avoid oxidizing heated medical material and to cause a flow of gas from a relatively cool portion of the radio-frequency treatment unit to a relatively warm portion and thereby to prevent any vapor which might have escaped from the medical material from condensing on cooler medical material entering the radio-frequency treatment unit.
-
Specification