COVID-19: Russia’s nuclear energy agency develops sterilisation device

Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy corporation, ROSATOM, has developed a device for sterilising medical instruments to combat the spread of COVID-19, as well as keep medical personnel and patients safe.

Yulia Kurashvili, Advisor to Director General of ROSATOM’s company – JSC Rusatom Healthcare, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday.

Mr Kurashvili said that ROSATAM had already sterilised over 24 million medical masks, as well as 334,500 portable lab kits to test for COVID-19.

According to him, unlike all other types of sterilisation, this method has sufficient penetrating power, which allows it to process hermetically sealed products.

“The generated streams of accelerated electrons are able to penetrate the packaging of medical devices without violating its integrity, which eliminates the possibility of re-contamination of the product.

“In addition, after processing the product with a stream of accelerated electrons, the product immediately becomes usable. This does not require degassing, unlike other sterilisation methods or other necessary actions, before actual use,” he said.

Mr Kurashvili said the method of sterilisation ensures environmental friendliness, adding that there was no side chemical and other pollution during processing.

He said that ways to address the new challenges in the use of nuclear technologies in medicine was expected in the nearest future.

“Medical devices are constantly evolving. Their functionality is changing, they are becoming hybrid, the technologies and materials for their manufacture are changing and viruses evolve too.

“Therefore, I believe that specialists and medical sterilisation technologies should always be a step ahead,” he said.

Mr Kurashvili said that at the end of the pandemic, the need for studies of the functional state of various organs and systems of the body of patients undergoing COVID-19 would increase.

“Only visualisation based only on nuclear medical technologies and new radio pharmaceutical preparations will be able to provide such opportunities.

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“At the moment, most medical rooms are treated with chlorine, which is a toxic substance,” he said.

The project’s Supervisor, Stanislav Kosarev said that the ozonation, by contrast, was a clean technology that, if used correctly, does not have adverse effects.

“Using our device allows you to sterilise scrubs, etc. without thermal exposure, which will increase their lifespan.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that JSC Rusatom Healthcare is an integrator in the field of radiation technologies in medicine and industry.

(NAN)