A fully integrated 10 MeV electron beam sterilization system

Application of electron beam to inactivate Salmonella in food: Recent developments

“…High-energy continuous e-beam has been applied to efficiently reduce pathogenic microorganisms in food and food packaging (Allen et al, 1995;Curry et al, 2000;Watanabe, 2000;Levanduski & Jaczynski, 2008;Black & Jaczynski, 2006. Improvements have been directed toward the development of a compact low-energy, high-power pulsed e-beam that uses secondary electron emission phenomena referred to as the "secondary emission electron gun" (SEEG) e-beam (Chalise, Ishikawa, Watanabe, Okino, Ko, & Hotta, 2001).…”

Bacterial Inactivation Using Low-Energy Pulsed-Electron Beam

“…The high-energy (MeV) electron beam has been reportedly applied in the area of sterilization/decontamination, which is mainly directed toward elimination of pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms in food processing and food packaging [1], [2]. The mechanism of bacterial inactivation by electron beam is not conclusively known but it is widely believed that the mechanism is similar to other ionization radiations such as -ray or X-ray [2], [17], [18].…”

“…Besides, atmospheric pressure discharge plasmas are highly susceptible to instabilities, and generation and reliable maintenance of uniform large volume discharge plasma at or near atmospheric pressure remains formidable challenges [13]. The ionization radiation such as X-ray or -ray has been available for many years, and has gradually been accepted for the use in sterilization of selected foods, plastic laboratory and medical equipment, and pharmaceutical products [1], [14]- [17]. The use of ionization radiation such as -ray requires highly radioactive sources such as Co-60, which should be heavily shielded and can be destructive to sensitive equipment and certain food products [5].…”

“…A PULSED electron beam technology is considered as a potential alternative to existing sterilization/decontamination techniques [1], [2]. The technology is based broadly on the short-pulse high-energy electron beam as a source of ionization and excitation energy to inactivate various microorganisms.…”

Soft-Tissue Allografts Terminally Sterilized with an Electron Beam Are Biomechanically Equivalent to Aseptic, Nonsterilized Tendons

“…E-beam sterilization requires only minutes of exposure for effectiveness, compared with hours necessary for gamma irradiation; thus, the degradation of tissue due to heat and free radicals can be appreciably reduced 26 . Early concerns regarding the limited penetrability of dense materials by electrons have been addressed through process improvements, including increasing the power of the electron beam to 10 MeV and incorporating two-sided dose delivery 27 . Several medical device companies have successfully adopted e-beam technology to terminally sterilize their tissuebased products because of the benefits of reduced tissue degradation, well-controlled dose ranges, and rapid turnaround 25,28 .…”