Validating Radiation Sterilization for Medical Products

Karl Hemmerich

Mr. Karl J. Hemmerich President of Ageless Processing Technologies, has over 35 years of experience in medical device product design, development, manufacturing, and sterilization. He specializes in sterilization method selection and program development with emphasis on component material selection, polymer processing, process development and automated assembly, and sterilization process validation. Karl has extensive experience in radiation sterilization with over 10 years in management of a gamma processing facility, as well as a technical resource for Customers with materials and dose related product issues. Karl has made numerous presentations at Customer sales seminars, industry technical conferences and the FDA. Some of the subjects covered included radiation compatibility and selection of materials, gamma processing, dosimetry, package design, validation test design, preventing part failure through enhancements in processing and product design, and accelerated aging.

In 2004 Medical Device and Diagnostics Industry selected Mr. Hemmerich as one of the 100 Most Notable People in the medical device industry. He has written and presented papers on sterilization and materials selection for many corporations, universities and professional organizations, including MDDI, SPE, FDA, HIMA, & ASQC. His paper on radiation effects on polymers published in Medical Device and Diagnostics magazine remains an industry standard (www.mddionline.com/article/polymer-materials-selection-radiation-sterilized-products ). He has taught courses in Radiation Sterilization of Medical Polymers and Preventing Plastic Part Failure through the College of Engineering, University of Wisconsin. He is a Co-Chair of the AAMI SWG96/ISO11137 "Compatibility of Materials Subject to Sterilization" working group that developed Technical Information Report # 17 as the guidance for materials selection, qualification/validation test techniques and quality processing methods for all common sterilization methods (i.e. radiation, EO, VHP, steam). Mr. Hemmerich is Co-director of the Editorial Advisory Board for MDDI magazine where he offers forward looking guidance as well as technical review for state-of-the-art articles prior to publication.

In addition to over a decade of consulting as a Product Development, Expert Witness, and Materials and Sterilization Specialist, Mr. Hemmerich has held various responsible positions in medical product R&D, manufacturing and sterilization operations with Becton-Dickinson, Cutter Laboratories (Bayer), IVAC Corporation and Steris Isomedix. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Stevens Institute of Technology, a Masters of Bio-Medical Engineering from the Polytechnic Institute of New York University, and a Masters of Business Administration from Fairleigh Dickinson University