Glossary
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Glossary
Air leakage
is a location through which air can pass in and out
without this being desired. Verification of the leak-
age serves to prove that the volume of air ingress
in the chamber during the vacuum phase does not
exceed a value which would prevent steam pene-
tration of the sterilizer load and that the air leakage
does not cause the possible contamination of the
sterilizer load during the drying phase.
AKI
AKI is the abbreviation for “Arbeitskreis Instrument-
enaufbereitung”
Authorised technician
The term “authorised technician” refers to an em-
ployee of a customer service provider or stockist
who has been trained and authorised by MELAG
to perform maintenance and installation work on
MELAG devices. Only they may carry out this
work.
Batch
The batch is the composition of items which has
been subject to the same reprocessing procedure.
Bowie & Dick test
Steam penetration test with a standard test pack-
age; described in EN 285; the test is recognized in
the large-scale sterilization industry.
CF card
The CF card is a memory medium for digital data;
Compact Flash is an official standard, i.e. these
memory cards can be used in every device fitted
with the corresponding slot. The CF card can be
read by every device that supports the standard
and where necessary, written on.
Competent personnel
Trained personnel in accordance with national
specifications for the respective area of application
(dentistry, medicine, podiatry, veterinary medicine,
cosmetics, piercing, tattoo) with the following con-
tents: knowledge of instruments, hygiene and mi-
crobiology, risk assessment and classification of
medical devices and instrument reprocessing.
Condensate
Fluid (e.g. water) produced by the cooling of and
resultant separation from the vaporous state.
Conductivity
is the ability of a conductive chemical substance or
mixture of substances to conduct or transfer ener-
gy or other substances or particles in space.
Corrosion
The chemical alteration or destruction of metal ma-
terials by water and chemicals
Delay in boiling
This refers to the phenomenon that it is possible
under certain circumstances to heat a fluid beyond
its boiling point without them boiling. This repre-
sents an unstable state; even low-level agitation
can produce a large bubble within the shortest pe-
riod, which expands explosively.
Demineralised water
Water without the minerals usually found in normal
spring or tap water; is produced through ion ex-
change of normal tap water. It is used here as feed
water.
DGSV
Abb.: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Sterilgutverord-
nung (German Association for the Sterilized Equip-
ment Ordinance). The DSGV training centres are
specified in DIN 58946, part 6 as “Requirements of
personnel”.
DGUV Regulation 1
DGUV is the abbreviation for “Deutsche Gesetzli-
che Unfallversicherung” (German Statutory Acci-
dent Insurance). The regulation 1 governs the prin-
ciples of prevention.
DIN 58946-7
Standard – sterilization - steam steam sterilizers -
part 7: Building requirements and requirements
placed on the operating agents and the operation
of steam sterilizers in the health-care branch
DIN 58953
Standard – sterilization, sterile equipment supply
Distilled water
From the Latin aqua destillata; also referred to as
aqua dest; water which to a great extent is free
from salts, organic material and micro-organisms,
is produced from normal tap water or pre-cleaned
water through the process of distillation (evapora-
tion and subsequent condensation). Distilled water
is used, for example, as feed water for steam steri-
lizers.
Double jacket steam generator
Serves the quick generation of steam outside the
sterilization chamber, surrounds the sterilization
chamber
Dynamic pressure test of the sterilization chamber
Serves to prove that the rate of pressure variations
during a sterilization cycle does not exceed a par-
ticular value which could result in the damage of
the packaging material. [see also EN 13060]
Empty chamber test
Test run without a load, performed to assess the
performance of a sterilizer without the influence of
