TAU STERIL
N° 11 - Rev. 3 03/02/20
User Manual
Page 33
FAST B
Appendix 4
Description of the Bowie & Dick Test
The Bowie & Dick test, also known as the Brown test, is representative for textile materials to be sterilised. The test
piece consists of a series of sheets of paper and sponge rubber forming a small packet in the middle of which is
placed a heat sensitive sheet (physical-chemical test).
This test verifies the performance of the appliance for the sterilisation of textiles:
Efficacy of the initial vacuum in enhancing the steam penetration.
The temperature and pressure parameters of the saturated steam during the sterilisation phase.
The cycle profile is of the same form as the oth-
ers but with:
A temperature of 135,5°C
A pressure of 2.16 bar
A sterilisation phase of 4.10 minutes
A reduced drying time of 4 minutes to avoid
falsifying the result.
Carry out the test as follows:
Place the Bowie & Dick test piece in the sterilisation chamber on the lowest tray, with the label facing up-
wards.
Select the B&D cycle in the menu (see below)
Now close the door and await the end of cycle. Immediately the cycle comes to an end, open the door and bring out
the test piece. Note! The packet will still be hot! Take out the heat-sensitive paper from inside the packet.
CORRECT RESULT: RESULT NON CORRECT:
The radiating bands are all black (F13)
The radiating bands are not black at the centre (F14)
Fig.13 Fig. 14
Even if the heat-sensitive paper is grey or silver, the test result is not correct: it has been exposed to too high a tem-
perature.
For archiving, you can attach the printout ticket to the test paper.
