Radiation sterilisation of medical products has traditionally been done with gamma rays from radioactive sources or with electron beams produced by accelerators. Both methods sterilise by destroying microorganisms with ionising radiation. High energy X-rays sterilise in the same way. X-ray sterilisation is still a young process, however, considerable industrial experience has been gained through its post 9/11 use for sterilising large quantities of mail.
How X-ray works
X-rays are generated using high powered beams from electron accelerators. Electron accelerators function in a similar way to large cathode ray" tubes in old fashioned TVs. They accelerate electrons ...