The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 03, 1996
Filed:
Mar. 16, 1995
Daniel F Smith, Irvine, CA (US);
Johnson & Johnson Medical, Inc., Arlington, TX (US);
Abstract
A self-contained biological indicator includes an outer container that is translucent and liquid impermeable. The container is normally closed by a vapor-permeable, micro-organism-impermeable closure and contains a source of viable microorganisms, a culture medium, a composition that decomposes hydrogen peroxide, and a detector that undergoes a visible change in response to growth of the microorganisms. In operation, the indicator is first subjected to a sterilization cycle in a hydrogen peroxide sterilizer. Without opening the outer container, the microorganism source, culture medium, and hydrogen peroxide-decomposing composition are brought into contact. The indicator is placed in an incubator, after which the detector responds to any microorganism growth, indicative of incomplete sterilization. But for the hydrogen peroxide-decomposing composition, hydrogen peroxide that becomes bound to the microorganism support during sterilization, could kill the microorganisms afterwards, yielding a false indication of complete sterilization.