Medical Device Sterilization Ethylene Oxide

However favorable properties table 6 account for its continued widespread use.

Medical device sterilization ethylene oxide.

It is a relatively cold sterilization technique and offers high compatibility with most materials used in the manufacture of medical devices such as plastics polymers metals and glass. Ethylene oxide sterilization of medical devices at issue in light of closures and potential closures of certain facilities that use gas ethylene oxide eto to sterilize medical devices prior to their distribution and use the food and drug administration fda is concerned about the future availability of medical devices and. Although medical devices can be sterilized by several methods ethylene oxide is the most common method of sterilization of medical devices in the u s. And is a well established and scientifically.

The eo sterilization process has been employed by the health care industry to sterilize medical devices since the early 1940s griffith and hall 1940 1943 1. For ethylene oxide sterilization two voluntary consensus standards ansi aami iso 11135 2014 and ansi aami iso 10993 7 2008 r 2012 describe how to develop validate and control ethylene oxide sterilization processes for medical devices and the acceptable levels of residual ethylene oxide and ethylene chlorohydrin left on a device after it. Ethylene oxide sterilization and medical devices eto sterilization is a highly regulated process and device manufacturers hospitals and third party sterilizers must follow rigorous controls established by fda epa osha and other government agencies to protect patients workers and the environment. 1 2017 august 31.

The eto carbon dioxide co 2 mixture consists of 8 5 eto and. A comparison of gamma e beam x ray and ethylene oxide technologies for the industrial sterilization of medical devices and healthcare products. Ethylene oxide eo sterilization is the most common industrial sterilization technique for medical devices. 872 two eto gas mixtures are available to replace eto chlorofluorocarbon cfc mixtures for large capacity tank supplied sterilizers.

The use of eto evolved when few alternatives existed for sterilizing heat and moisture sensitive medical devices.