New Delhi: India achieved a major milestone on Monday when the electron beam (E-beam) radiation technology developed by a premier institute of the Department of Atomic Energy completed sterilisation of 50 lakh medical devices. Dr Ajit Kumar Mohanty, Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy and Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission, witnessed this achievement at the electron beam facility adjacent to Choithram Mandi in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore, an official of Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology (RR-CAT) of the department said. This achievement has put India in the select group of countries that use state-of-the-art indigenous radiation technology on a large scale, he said. To make the memory of this moment everlasting, RR-CAT Director Unmesh D Malshe presented a memento to Mohanty, the official added. According to the official, the facility to sterilize medical devices in this unit started in October 2022 and so far 50 lakh medical devices of different companies have been sterilized in it.
The AIC I-Hub, RRCAT‘s incubation centre, facilitates the provision of electron beam irradiation services to Indian industries at competitive prices when compared to conventional sterilization technology. RRCAT’s 10 MeV, 6 kW electron linear accelerator delivers precision-controlled irradiation doses ranging from a few Grays (Gy) (unit for measurement for absorbed radiation) to several Mega Grays (MGy) for a variety of applications, he said.
“Its versatility has enabled it to be used for commercial sterilization of medical devices, mutation breeding for improved crop varieties, colour modification of gemstones, creation of novel materials, modification of semiconductor properties, testing of ISRO components, and various other R&D applications for industries and academia,” he informed. Electron beam irradiation is gaining global recognition due to its eco-friendly, efficient, and secure nature, the official added.
This indigenously developed E-beam technology has the potential to position India as a global leader in medical device sterilization and other radiation-based applications, the official asserted.
