IUSS grew out of an earlier era of “flash” sterilization, when the priority was keeping procedures moving in urgent situations. It was designed for the unexpected, a dropped instrument, a last-minute need, a case already in motion, not as a routine answer to workflow gaps.

Flash sterilization in the 1990s and even early in this millennium was used to rapidly sterilize surgical instruments in emergency situations, when unexpected delays backed-up the OR, or if a critical instrument was dropped before surgery. It was a way to keep the OR on schedule without necessarily considering the options. At the time, gravity displacement steam was the method of choice used in the OR to sterilize instruments.

Do you remember the story of the Little Engine that could? It’s about determination. It's clear that pulling the train over the mountain is not easy for the little engine. The little engine's repetition of 'I think I can' represents the power of determination and is a metaphor for reaching any challenging goal.