Introduction to the Tuttnauer Biological Incubators and Indicators
This article is a tie-in to our new video about Tuttnauer’s 2 BioNova Bio-Readers and Biological Indicators. The BioNova Incubator and the MiniBio Auto-Reader are must-have devices in any practice or laboratory. And today, we’ll tell you a little bit about just how useful they can be.
However, if you’re more visual, we have a video on the subject here to watch.
And if you just want to talk to someone, call our Free Tech Support at 704-966-1650 Option 3.
The Details
What is a Biological Indicator?
A biological indicator provides information on whether necessary conditions were met to kill a specified number of microorganisms for a given sterilization process, providing a level of confidence in the process. Endospores, or bacterial spores, are the microorganisms primarily used in BIs. A biological indicator is made up of a carrier material, on which bacterial spores with a defined resistance to the sterilization process have been applied. The carrier material is enclosed within a glassine vial. The BI is exposed to the sterilization process and then incubated under defined growth conditions to determine whether any spores survived the process. If no spores survive, none grow and the test is a pass. If growth is detected, the test is a fail.
What is the Importance of the Bio-Readers?
The importance of the biological readers go hand-in-hand with that of the indicators. They offer a higher degree of confidence in how well your last cycle went. In a medical practice, the efficiency of your sterilizer is one of the most important things. This fact is made more important due to the fact that we’re still in a post-pandemic world and cannot leave anything to chance.
Originally, before these kinds of readers and indicators, spore tests had to be physically mailed out from wherever the test took place to an off-site lab for analysis. This process could take anywhere from 6 days to over a week depending on outside factors. And when you have a fully operational practice where you need as many instruments on hand as possible, that kind of time can be costly. In a number of ways. The bio-readers and indicators can get you results much faster. Just 20 minutes to an hour depending on which indicators you decide to use. The speed and accuracy in which you get results from these bio-readers is the perfect selling point to have one on hand for your practice or laboratory.
About the Biological Readers
There are 2 biological reader devices that Tuttnauer has available right now. The 3-slot MiniBio Auto-Reader and the 12-slot BioNova Incubator. Both are insanely resourceful for the reasons mentioned before, but here are some things you need to know about them.
- They can both run 20 min or 1 hour process times
- Both have very user-friendly interfaces
- They’re both very reasonably sized so they’re out of your way
- One BI and reader can be used in both gravity and pre/post vacuum sterilizer
- Both have built-in thermal printers
Final Thoughts
With the spore tests and the use of biological indicators being so important, time is of the essence. And having to mail out separate spore tests and not having any guarantee that they can be back in a timely manner can be an unnecessary hassle. But now, the advances in medical technology have made that a thing of the past. Both the MiniBio and the BioNova Incubator are a must in any practice or laboratory. Fast results, Compact and non-intrusive design, user-friendly interface, and none of the reliance on anyone else but the machine. It does its job in the background so there’s no micromanagement required.
As always if you have any questions about this process or anything else please feel free to contact us and take advantage of our “FREE TECH SUPPORT.”
We also offer FREE VIRTUAL TECH SUPPORT to “See and Talk” with a “Real Time Live Technician” for any problems you may be in need of help with.
You can also use our “FREE MAINTENANCE PROGRAM”. Take the guesswork and worrying about what unit is due for maintenance and which maintenance cycle it is time for. We will keep track of all your autoclaves and let you know when it’s time for anything.
Pick up the MiniBio 3-Slot Auto-Reader from us here.
Check out the BioNova 12-Slot Incubator from our website here.