Testing at Body Temperature

Instron’s Biobox System enables testing at body temperature. Within the medical device industry, regulatory agencies often test internally based devices and implants in a physiological state. The Company’s system meets the growing trend of testing actual medical devices and biomaterials at body temperature (37 °C). For large or long devices, testing in a liquid may not be practical. As an alternative, testing inside a controlled air environment at body temperature provides a powerful solution.

The system can be ordered as a standard item on Series 3340, 5540 or 5940 singlecolumn testing instruments or retrofitted on selected models already in operation. The large dimensions of the system allow the full range of movement of the relevant testing system to be used. Typical applications are testing of sutures, catheter tubing, latex gloves, and a wide variety of other devices and biomaterials at physiologically relevant temperatures. In general, most standard grips and fixings can be used, because, unlike in the case of fluid baths, these do not have to be made from highly corrosion resistant material.

The testing chamber consists of four polycarbonate sidewalls with an internal heating tube that provides the appropriate levels of heat. The centrally located, highlevel air ducts provide consistent airflow for uniform temperature distribution during testing. The adjustable temperature range is from ambient temperature to 40 °C (maximum), with a deviation from the set temperature of only +/- 2 °C. Two large glass doors arranged one above the other at the front of the enclosure allows for quick access to the test space.