Sterilization & CSSD
Class B sterilizer
Also called: EN 13060 Class B, pre-vacuum benchtop autoclave
Class B sterilizer — A small steam sterilizer defined in EN 13060 that uses fractionated pre-vacuum to remove air, so it can process wrapped, porous and hollow loads.
EN 13060 defines three types of small sterilizer: Class B for all load types including wrapped and lumened instruments, Class N for unwrapped solid instruments only, and Class S for loads the manufacturer specifies.
The “B” here is unrelated to indicator classes. Class B machines that process wrapped loads should run an air-removal test such as a Bowie-Dick or helix test daily.
Related termsSteam sterilizationBowie-Dick test
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