Our Sterilization Assurance Programme is a comprehensive and prudent approach to sterilization monitoring procedures and methods which can be counted on to reduce the risk of unnoticed sterilization failure, providing security and peace of mind to professionals in the healthcare industry. The Sterilization Assurance programme consists of five separate but interrelated processes which monitor every aspect of the sterilization cycle and help to establish, manage and maintain a consistent protocol for sterilization in your facility.
1. Sterilizer Equipment Control Products
3M™ Equipment Control Products reveal if the sterilizer is operating to set conditions of time, temperature, pressure, air removal, moisture conditioning and sterilant exposure. These include the Lantor Cube ™*, and Disposable Bowie and Dick Test Packs. Additionally the unique Electronic Test System (ETS) is a precise and easy to use digital monitoring system for daily and weekly sterilizer checks.
2. Sterilization Exposure Control Products
Our Exposure Control Products help to distinguish between processed and unprocessed medical devices at a glance and assure the sterilizer operator and the pack user that each pack or item has been exposed to the sterilization process. 3M™ Comply ™ Steam Indicator Tape has been the chemical indicator of choice worldwide for over 30 years, having superior adhesive and colour change properties. There is now also a dedicated 3M autoclave tape (cat No. 1255) for use with disposable wrapping materials which has a unique adhesive making it ideal for use with single use wraps.
3. Sterilization Load and Pack Control Products
Load Control is the process by which a load is monitored and released based on the result of a biological or chemical indicator in a test pack or process challenge device. 3M has a full line of steam and EO biological indicators with results in as little as one hour, and chemical indicators of class 4,5 and 6, providing instantaneous, unambiguous results.
Chemical indicators are also used in our Pack Control Products for internal monitoring of packs, trays, containers and peel pouches. Our wide range of class 4,5 and 6 chemical indicators immediately identify if the conditions for sterilization have been met on a pack-by-pack basis. See our guide to Classification of Chemical Indicators. (PDF, 18KB)
4. Documenting the Sterilization Process
3M™ Record Keeping Products assist in documenting the sterilization process. Each pack should be labelled so it can be traced back through records in the event of a problem.
5. Washers and Disinfectors
In addition to the above, our digital platform includes the 3M™ Data Logger for time temperature monitoring for washers and disinfectors. The 3M™ Electronic Test System (ETS) conducts the daily Bowie and Dick test electronically and measures the physical parameters of the steam sterilization process. The ETS also allows for electronic archiving of Bowie and Dick test records allowing easy storage and retrieval of daily records.
For more information about our programme or any of the sterilization products mentioned please Contact Us.
Sterilization Equipment Product Documentation
To view in a browser window click the 'View' button. Alternatively right-click and select 'Save Target As...' to save a document to your local machine or network.
| Title |
Format |
Size |
View |
Sterilization Standards
Update on International & European standards, moist heat processes and equipment standards |
 PDF |
452KB |
 |
Classification of Chemical Indicators
Guide to the different classifications of chemical indicators |
PDF |
18KB |
|
*Lantor Cube ™ is a trademark of Lantor (UK) Ltd.
|
