Description

Electron Beam provides a fast and reliable method of sterilisation to the medical device industry. However, sterilisation performed by ionising radiation can lead to undesirable changes in the polymeric material where the prediction and control of the properties are sometimes not well understood. Developing a portfolio of electron beam sterilisation processes will provide manufacturers with possible solutions for present and next generation product designs. Medical device companies commercially driven by the need to cut costs and reduce prices to customers could use this portfolio of electron beam processes to re-design components, sub-assemblies and assemblies thereby capitalising on unique polymer structures and characteristics resulting from electron beam sterilisation. This study focuses on the use of an industrial electron beam facility to undertake frontier research into optimising operational conditions to sterilise a variety of commercial commodity/medical grade polymers, and to explore novel use of electron beam irradiation by enriching material characteristics through the manipulation of operational conditions and the incorporation of additives.