Dose control and preliminary applications of radiation sterilization of medical and health care products using 10 MeV electron beams

Abstract

The single- and double-side dose distributions of 10 MeV electron beam irradiation were measured and extensively analyzed to optimize the irradiation process for medical and health care products. To this end, the optimal penetration depth and depth dose distribution curves of an electron beam were measured and analyzed in three uniform materials with varying densities: a PE board, Chevrolet board, and high-density high-pressure foam board. The results demonstrated that the dose uniformity ratio range of double-side irradiation was approximately 1.0–2.6. The maximum acceptable dose variation for medical and health care products should be a minimum of 2.6 times that of the minimum sterilization dose. A region on the depth curve of an electron beam dose could be selected according to the ratio between the maximum acceptable dose and the minimum sterilization dose; alternatively, the absorbed dose for health care products could be controlled by optimizing the packaging form to improve the irradiation mode and pretreatment of the product. This study demonstrated the importance of effective radiation sterilization for medical and health care products.

Keywords

• electron beam
• accelerator
• health care products
• maximum acceptable dose
• dose control
• dose uniformity ratio