Comparing different mechanical models for the evaluation of mechanical behavior of reuse in PVC electrosurgical pencils through their hardness and Young´s Modulus relation

The validation of the mechanical behavior of medical devices (MD) that undergo reprocessing can be an important tool to ensure that the device is adequate for a new use. Health care institutions seek to increase their cost to benefit ratio regarding the purchase of a MD, without compromising the patient´s health. Mechanical characterization is an excellent way to measure important physical properties to check the state of reused MD. Nevertheless, this type of analysis requires the destruction of the MD. This work attempts to approach this problem through the implementation of a nondestructive technique known as indentation by Shore A (hardness measure), that can be relate with deformation (Young´s Modulus) through analytical models. This research reports that the relationship between the Young´s Modulus and the electrosurgical pencils hardness follows a parabolic model among other models, including a multivariate model, a logarithmic model and an exponential one. We conclude that it is possible to obtain the value of the deformation of a MD through the measure of hardness, achieving to validate the mechanical behavior without destroying it, increasing the cost to benefit ratio of the health care institution and securing the patient´s integrity during a medical procedure.