Battelle CCDS™ — Keeping N95 Respirators in Service During COVID-19

Overview

When the COVID-19 pandemic created a critical shortage of N95 respirators across the United States, Battelle deployed a proven decontamination system to extend the life of existing PPE — and relied on Instron to keep their mechanical testing operations running throughout. Instron's rapid software support ensured Battelle could continue verifying the integrity of decontaminated respirators without interruption.

The Challenge

In March 2020, as COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations surged, Battelle moved quickly to deploy their Critical Care Decontamination System™ (CCDS™) — a vapor-phase hydrogen peroxide (VPHP) decontamination system that had been validated in a 2015 FDA study. That study demonstrated that VPHP could effectively decontaminate N95 respirators through multiple cycles without degrading their protective properties, making it a proven solution for exactly the kind of PPE shortage the pandemic had created.

Battelle fast-tracked the build and deployment of the CCDS™ in under a month, targeting the hardest-hit areas of the country where PPE shortages were most severe.

Central to the program was mechanical testing. Battelle used their Instron systems to test the straps of N95 respirators after multiple decontamination cycles, confirming that the mechanical properties were retained and the masks remained safe for reuse. At this critical moment, Battelle was in the middle of a software upgrade across their Instron systems to support new Windows 10-based PCs — and needed it completed fast.

The Solution

Instron's support team responded quickly, prioritizing Battelle's software upgrades so their testing operations could resume with minimal disruption. With the upgrades completed, Battelle's team was able to continue mechanical testing of decontaminated respirators without delay — and to develop new custom test methods to fully evaluate materials being processed through the CCDS™.

Instron's flexible software platform played a key role in enabling Battelle to build and run the specialized tests their program required, going beyond standard test configurations to support the unique demands of the decontamination validation work.

The Result

With Instron's support, Battelle was able to maintain the mechanical testing program underpinning their CCDS™ deployment — ultimately helping to put reusable, verified N95 respirators back in the hands of frontline healthcare workers in COVID-19 hotspots across the United States.

The partnership between Battelle and Instron spans more than seven decades, from Instron's first system installation at Battelle in the 1950s through to today. That long history of collaboration meant that when Battelle needed a rapid response at one of the most critical moments in recent memory, Instron was ready to deliver.