It is estimated that between 80 and 90% of all disposable medical plastic products currently manufactured are compatible with electron beam processing. Given the obvious advantages of the process itself, coupled with BeamOne's firm commitment to superior, personalized, customer service, BeamOne's overwhelming success in medical device sterilization technology is easily understood.
Electron Beam Compared with Ethylene Oxide
- Significantly faster turnaround time
Electron beam requires no pre-humidification, no post-sterilization aeration, and no sterility testing after the product is processed.
- Reduced inventory carrying costs
Faster turn-around time requires less product to be held in inventory.
- Product consistency
Electron beam processing variables consists of only "dose delivered"; other processing variables inherent to EtO, (e.g. gas concentration, vacuum, pressure, etc.) are not variables in electron beam processing.
- Lower Cost of Sterilization
Electron beam processing is extremely cost competitive; furthermore, biological indicator testing is not necessary in electron beam processing, thus eliminating an additional testing charge.
- Safety
Electron beam processing does not utilize potentially dangerous chemicals or gases, nor is there the potential that chemicals or gases might remain on or in the product.
- Cost Savings in Product Packaging
Electron beam does not require the special \"breathable\" packaging necessary for EtO to allow for noxious gas aeration; non-permeable plastic packaging is less expensive and easily penetrated with electron beam.
Electron Beam Compared with Gamma
- Faster turnaround time
Productions remain in an electron beam cell for a matter of seconds as compared with several minutes or hours in a gamma cell.
Faster turn-around time requires less product to be held in inventory.
- Reduced product alteration
Because of the shorter exposure time to the irradiation source, electron beam processing reduces the oxidation effects on products and thus reduces material degradation and minimizes sensory changes.
- Flexibility
BeamOne's electron beam facilities can switch from one targeted dose to another in a matter of a few seconds; by design, gamma facilities cannot switch rapidly or frequently.
- Uniform, controlled dose
Electron beam processing delivers a measurable and consistent dose to products based upon pre-set accelerator parameters; all processing parameters are under constant measurement by the built-in computer PLC; any variation occurring during a processing run automatically shuts down the system until the reason for the variation can be determined and corrected.
- No re-sourcing required
Electron beam processing is accomplished through accelerated electrical energy and not via radioactive isotopes such as Cobalt-60; therefore, the facility does not need to be out of service for any period of time in order to re-introduce the sterility source into the operation. When gamma facilities are re-sourced, products must be re-validated before they can run in normal production. This inconvenience is not encountered in electron beam processing.
- Safety
Because electron beam facilities run from the normal electrical power distribution system, they can be inactivated by simply shutting off the power. There are no radioactive materials issues or residuals to handle.
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