Responses to sterilisation capacity challenges
Conversations in the healthcare community increasingly refer to challenges in accessing sufficient sterilisation capacity.
In recent years organisations, including the IAEA, have referred to alternative technologies suggesting that the market is looking to switch from gamma to alternatives including EB and X-ray. In reality the healthcare community, which accounts for by far the largest part of the demand for gamma irradiation, requires access to all irradiation technologies as demand is challenging and/or exceeding existing available capacity.
In response to current capacity challenges EB and X-ray capacity is expanding rapidly but even with this investment all existing sterilisation modalities are required.
The Society for Sterility Assurance Professionals (SfSAP) has published two news articles which reference recent actions in response to the capacity challenge – a 510K Pilot Program and the use of vaporised hydrogen peroxide.
Click on the links to read the articles.