Treatment Indicator, A Method Of Production Thereof, And A Method Of Use Thereof

1 . A treatment indicator comprising:

a first body having a biological material; and

a fluid porous body fluidly connected upstream to the first body, the fluid porous body having a plurality of interstitial spaces and a cleaning test soil disposed within at least some of the spaces to inhibit fluid flow of a fluid through the porous body to the first body.

2 . The treatment indicator of claim 1 , wherein the cleaning test soil is configured for removal from the plurality of interstitial spaces.

3 . The treatment indicator of claim 1 , wherein the cleaning test soil comprises at least one of a protein, a derivative of a protein, a carbohydrate, a nucleic acid, a lipid, a salt, and an acid.

4 . The treatment indicator of claim 1 , wherein the cleaning test soil comprises at least one protein selected from the group consisting of a blood protein, collagen, keratin, casein, and mucin.

5 . The treatment indicator of claim 1 , further comprising a sterilant neutralizer in contact with at least one of the first body, the plurality of the interstitial spaces, and the fluid porous body.

6 . The treatment indicator of claim 1 , wherein the biological material comprises a bacterial spore.

7 . The treatment indicator of claim 1 , further comprising:

a housing comprising:

a cavity, wherein the first body, the fluid porous body, and the cleaning test soil are positioned within the cavity;

a first port; and

a second port, the first port and second port in fluid engagement with the cavity.

8 . The treatment indicator of claim 7 , further comprising a reservoir positioned within the cavity, the reservoir comprising a seal configured to retain growth media separate from the biological material.

9 . A method for indicating a level of treatment in a treatment apparatus, the method comprising:

introducing a treatment indicator into the treatment apparatus;

operating the treatment apparatus, wherein the operating step includes:

subjecting a fluid porous body of the treatment indicator to a fluid from the treatment apparatus, the fluid passing through interstitial spaces in the fluid porous body with at least some interstitial spaces having a cleaning test soil disposed therein to inhibit flow of the fluid through the porous body, and

subjecting a first body having a biological material to fluid that has passed through the fluid porous body; and

measuring a quantity of active biological material in the first body following the operating step.

10 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising incubating the treatment indicator with growth media.

11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein measuring the quantity of active biological material in the first body comprises measuring an electromagnetic property of at least one of the growth media and the active biological material.

12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the electromagnetic property is at least one of absorption, transmittance, scattering, reflectance, and photoluminescence.

13 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the electromagnetic property is measured at a wavelength in a range of 100 nm to 1000 nm.

14 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the introducing step includes placing a first treatment indicator into a vessel of the treatment apparatus and placing a second treatment indicator into a treatment basin of the treatment apparatus.

15 . A method of preparing a treatment indicator, the method comprising:

coupling a biological material with a first body; and

placing a cleaning test soil in at least some interstitial spaces of a fluid porous body; and

connecting the fluid porous body to the first body via a fluid path, wherein the cleaning test soil inhibits fluid flow of a fluid through the porous body to the first body.

16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the cleaning test soil is configured for removal from the plurality of interstitial spaces.

17 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the cleaning test soil comprises at least one of a protein a derivative of a protein, a carbohydrate, a nucleic acid, a lipid, a salt, and an acid.

18 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the cleaning test soil comprises at least one protein selected from the group consisting of a blood protein, collagen, keratin, casein, and mucin.

19 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising positioning a sterilant neutralizer in cooperative arrangement with at least one of the first body and the fluid porous body.

20 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the biological material comprises a bacterial spore.