Sterilization system
AssigneeJohnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc.
InventorsJames A. Ebel, John B. Enns, Peyman Dehkordi, Douglas Ingram, Allan W. Kimble
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A sterilization system comprising: radiation source; optical and/or electrical sensors; and timing means; wherein the measurement of radiation by the optical sensor is substantially synchronized based on the timing means to the start and end of each pulse of radiation from the radiation source or to the start and end of the exposure of a product to the radiation source.
Claims47
A sterilization system for a product comprising:
- radiation source, optical sensor, and timing means, wherein the measurement of energy by said sensor is substantially synchronized based on said timing means to the start and end of each pulse of radiation from said radiation source or to the start and end of the exposure of a product to said radiation source, said sterilization system further comprising a computer, wherein said computer monitors said measurement of energy to determine if said product receives a sterilizing dose of radiation, and further wherein said optical sensor can measure the spectroradiometric flux of individual pulses of radiation which are delivered with less than 5 seconds between the pulses.
A method of measuring the energy of a radiation source in a sterilization system, wherein said sterilization system comprises said radiation source, an optical sensor, and a timing means, comprising the steps of:
- dumping the dark current from said optical sensor, substantially synchronizing based on said timing means the measurement of energy by said sensor to the start and end of each pulse of radiation from said radiation source or to the start and end of the exposure of a product to said radiation, and determining if said measured energy is within an acceptable range of energy required for sterilization.
A sterilization system for a product comprising:
- radiation source, optical sensor, and timing means, wherein the measurement of energy by said sensor is substantially synchronized based on said timing means to the start and end of each pulse of radiation from said radiation source or to the start and end of the exposure of a product to said radiation source, said sterilization system further comprising a computer, wherein said computer monitors said measurement of energy to determine if said product receives a sterilizing dose of radiation, and further wherein less than 200 milliseconds prior to said measurement of energy by said optical sensor, the dark current is dumped from said optical sensor.
A sterilization system for a product comprising:
- radiation source, optical sensor, and timing means, wherein the measurement of energy by said sensor is substantially synchronized based on said timing means to the start and end of each pulse of radiation from said radiation source or to the start and end of the exposure of a product to said radiation source, said sterilization system further comprising a computer, wherein said computer monitors said measurement of energy to determine if said product receives a sterilizing dose of radiation, said sterilization system further comprising:
- a housing;
- and wherein said optical sensor comprises a means for collecting a portion of said radiation from said radiation source and a spectroradiometer, said means for collecting being located inside said housing, said spectroradiometer being located outside said housing, and said housing being light-tight when said radiation source produces radiation, wherein said spectroradiometer receives radiation input from said means via a fiber optic, said spectroradiometer comprises a photodiode array and a dispersive optical element.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.