CL Tian is co-founder and CEO of Phiex. [Photo courtesy of Phiex]
MedTech Innovator winner Phiex is working with medical device manufacturers on an alternative to ethylene oxide (EtO) sterilization.The new method uses dry chlorine dioxide gas generated inside the medical device’s product packaging. The powder turns into a microbe-destroying gas when exposed to light, Phiex co-founder and CEO CL Tian said in an interview.
Medical device manufacturers can either integrate the powder into their product packaging or as a secondary pouch. And so far, most devices that can be sterilized with EtO can be sterilized with the Phiex process, Tian said.
EtO is the leading sterilization method for medical devices. Manufacturers and contract sterilization firms use EtO on more than 20 billion medical devices every year, or approximately half of all devices that require sterilization.
But the medte…