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Safetex Medical: Sustainable Surgical Instrument Trays

The Challenge

Every operating theatre is striving for a contamination-free zone while every Hospital is balancing standards with costs. Metal trays are used Worldwide and to date are the closest product for providing a sterile environment.

And yet, they are:
• expensive
• require lengthy decontamination
• can’t guarantee sterility

Our Unique Solution - Safetex Surgical

Our new Safetex Surgical utensils are unique. Despite being single use, they can be autoclaved and disposed of through maceration and traditional disposal methods. By contrast, single use plastic trays cannot be autoclaved.

Safetex Surgical products are environmentally friendly in that they are made from virgin sustainable materials that are biodegradable and compostable.

Safetex Surgical utensils do not compromise on safety or performance for the sake of the environment. Our trays have been independently tested by a third party for suitability in the surgical environment for all key hygiene and safety standards. The trays met or exceeded all critical performance parameters.

Safetex vs Metal kidney dish
Safetex Chlorhexidine 1 hour kidney dish

Chemical Resistance

Safetex Surgical are coated with a proprietary (patent pending) compound that makes them impervious to alcohol and spirits, unlike other biodegradable paper based trays and utensils. The following are some of the most common compounds and chemicals that have been successfully tested in Safetex Surgical utensils:

  • Spirits 70%
  • Spirits 90%
  • Chlorhexidine liquor 5mg/ml
  • Chlorhexidine solution 0.5 mg/ml
  • Hibiscrub 40 mg/ml
  • NaCl – sodium chloride
  • H2 O2 – Hydrogen peroxide
  • Fenol
  • Formalin
  • Contrast fluid
  • Methylene blue
  • Iodine (Chlorhexidine liquor)
Autoclavable - No ordinary pulp

Unlike single use plastic utensils, Safetex Surgical utensils are safe to be autoclaved. The utensils do not insulate or impede heat transfer to instruments and they do not distort, deform or change morphology. The utensils have been successfully tested independently in the UK for suitability in an autoclave and in the US they have been tested and conform to ASTM standards.

Safetex Temp Graph
Extremely low linting & dusting

In today’s market, nearly all trays and utensils made from pulp and paper derivatives are unsuitable for hygiene standards of the clinical procedure environment and particularly the operating theatre. However, Safetex Surgical has been developed specifically for use as a safe high hygiene alternative to plastic and metal trays.

Newspaper Surface

The surface made from recycled newspaper

Safetex Surface

Tray surface of Safetex Surgical

The above electron microscope images show the surfaces of a tray made from recycled newspaper and a Safetex Surgical tray. The recycled newspaper image depicts loose inconsistent fibres and particles that will cause linting and dusting. The Safetex Surgical tray is made from a weave of virgin fibres that are longer more consistent and without particulate interspersed between them.

In independent testing Safetex Surgical trays proved to be equal to polypropylene trays and far superior to other materials found in the operating theatre in terms of linting and dusting. The particulate count was extremely low and the trays were well within acceptable limits.

Filtered Sterilised Water Particle Counts

Filtered steriliser Water Chart
Low Bioburden

Safetex Surgical trays and utensils are manufactured in a
FDA approved factory, using a process that heats the virgin tray material to over 150°C. This produces a tray that has a very low bioburden. In independent testing the trays were proven to be safe for use in the clinical environment and well within the parameters required for sterilisation. Safetex Surgical can be sterilised using an autoclave, by EtO sterilisation or by gamma irradiation.

Bioburden image

Results of Independent Bioburden Test

Bioburden results