The Mystery of Bowie & Dick: Alterations in the Vacuum on Your Sterilizer Throughout the Year

By Willliam Leiva, MBA, MPH

If you were to read about one John Herbertston Bowie or one James Dick, most of us would never connect their names to steam sterilization. However, if you were to read about Bowie & Dick, your thoughts would lean toward one of the most commonly used tools by SPD Professionals. Doctor Bowie, a British Bacteriologist, conducted many studies in the United Kingdom between 1949 and 1955, and concluded that most hospital sterilization systems (steam was the only method used in the United Kingdom at that time) “did not ensure adequate sterilization due to faulty construction, faulty installation, or sterilizers were not used correctly”. Doctor Bowie, with one of his team members, Mr. James Dick, developed the “high-vacuum autoclave” (Figure 1). This autoclave heralded a plethora of changes that led to what we know as vacuum-assisted steam sterilizers, or simply prevac sterilizers.

Learning Objectives

1. Understand the rationale of the porous load test pack.
2. Describe the current Bowie & Dick test package technologies and the information they provide.
3. Understand air removal systems and performance changes over the year.

About the Author

Willliam Leiva, Senior Program Manager for Sterile Reprocessing, Medtronic

He holds undergraduate degrees in physics and engineering and master’s degrees in business administration and public health, where he focused his research on infection prevention strategies involving medical device reprocessing. He is currently a candidate for a Ph.D. in Cybernetics and Econometrics, researching around the economic impact of the burden of premature mortality. He has published peer review articles on the application of 3D printing technologies for medical devices and for austere environments.