Water quality is a hot topic within SPD and there is a new AAMI standard ST108 that users now need to comply with. ST108 includes recommendations for scheduled water testing and monitoring as well as risk assessments to determine the appropriate water quality for the intended use.

Years ago, when we developed the SteriTite sealed container system, the healthcare industry was standardizing on wrapped plastic sterilization trays. They were light weight and came in a variety of colors with depressions that encapsulated an instrument. They looked nice for display purposes in industries like cosmetics, foodservice, and kitchenware.

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…