Formalin Disinfectant Unit for Incubators

Most infants admitted to premature baby or neonatal surgical units are nursed in incubators during part of their stay in hospital. There are many advantages of nursing these infants in incubators, but there is also one great disadvantage, the danger of bacterial colonization and contamination inside the incubator. The temperature inside the incubator approaches that of the body and many of these babies are nursed in an atmosphere of high humidity; conditions are therefore very favourable for the survival and multiplication of bacteria, especially the Gram-negative species. In order to reduce colonization with pathogenic bacteria it is therefore necessary to clean and disinfect incubators thoroughly at short intervals usually every two or three days. Many modern types of incubator are now so designed that they are relatively easy to clean, but efficient disinfection still presents a formidable problem. As in the past disinfection by formaldehyde vapour has been time consuming and ineffective, a unit that is able to disinfect incubators automatically and efficiently in a relatively short time should be of considerable value to every premature baby and neonatal surgical unit. The model 33 formalin disinfection unit manufactured by Vickers Ltd., Medical Engineering, has been designed to disinfect incubators, hyperbaric chambers, and possibly also some types of mechanical respirator. The prototype of this machiae has been used and tested in the Liverpool Regional Neonatal Surgical Unit for over a year and lately the production model