Instrument Management Systems (IMS) are a rapidly growing trend in Dentistry. Dental Instrument Management Systems, which some people simply call cassette systems, or instrument cassette systems change the way you handle, store, set-up, use, clean, and sterilize your instruments; a tall order for a simple acronym. Let’s take a closer look at how they work.
The basis of the IMS is the instrument cassette. Available in many different sizes, and usually customizable in terms of layout and color (for coding by procedure or operatory) the cassette becomes the new home of the instrument. In fact, except for when the instrument is used, it stays in the cassette permanently.
Here’s how it works. We’ll use a hygiene setup as an example. The hygienist selects a cassette based on the number of instruments she uses. The cassette will hold a full instrument set up, including scalers, A/W syringe tips, probes, ultrasonic tips, etc. The hygienist takes the cassette into the operatory, opens it and works with her patient. When finished, all of the instruments are carefully loaded back into the cassette, and the cassette is closed and locked.
Ordinarily, the hygienist would take the instruments loose on a tray back to the sterilization room, scrub each one and drop them into the ultrasonic cleaner. By having the instruments loose, there is a risk (slight, but present) that she could bump into someone, causing a stick injury, or simply drop a contaminated instrument on the floor, damaging it. During the cleaning phase, the hygienist is at risk for infecting herself when scrubbing instruments. With IMS, the locked cassette is simply placed in the ultrasonic or better yet, instrument washer, and left until clean. Simple, time saving, and safe.
When it is time to move the instruments into the sterilizer, the hygienist would traditionally dump all the instruments into a bag, or loose into a sterilizer tray or Statim cassette. The instruments are stacked on top of each other, with metal to metal contact which potentially leaves areas of the instrument which do not achieve sterilization. The sterilization cycle runs, and the instruments are again dumped onto a counter for sorting or reuse.
In an IMS office, the cassette can simply be inserted into the sterilizer (if they are to be reused right away), or wrapped and sterilized if they are going to be stored before use. Each instrument is held by a silicone pad, which ensures complete sterilization. There is no contact between instruments, and no chance for the instruments to be damaged.
At each step of the way, it is easy to see how the use of IMS systems simplify the process, reduce the risk of damage to the instruments, reduce the risk of injury to staff, and increase efficiency in the office. Many companies make some form of IMS, but Hu-Friedy is one of the leaders in the field. To learn more about IMS from Hu-Friedy, follow this link to their innovation page.
Here is where you can find current listings of Hu-Friedy dental instrument systems for sale on our site.
Tags for this article :Dental Equipment Dental InstrumentsTags: Dental Equipment, Dental Instruments
