
By Danny Chan
As part of a promotional exercise for SciCan’s latest Statim autoclave range, Henry Shein Halas organised a nation-wide search for the oldest SciCan Statim Autoclave. According to results of the contest, Australia’s oldest Statim autoclave unit is a 25-year-old SciCan Classic Statim 5000.
The trusty sterilisation unit belongs to Dr Rayappu Packianathan, a General Dentist based in Canberra. As it turned out, Dr Packianathan has a serendipitous relationship with the marquee brand of autoclaves. The old SciCan Classic Statim 5000 autoclave that helped him to win the competition was a gift from a dental technician. When his own autoclave unit expired about a year ago, the dentist was initially loaned the SciCan Statim 5000 as a replacement unit from his technician who later decided to give it to him instead.
“Although I wasn’t the original owner of the older SciCan Statim unit, it has been serving my practice very well for the whole time that I’ve had it. It has never broken down or required repairs and is tremendously easy to use – my dental assistant learned how to use it very quickly. We could run the clinic with minimum number of handpieces,” says the proud owner.
“Despite its age, it has proven to be safe, sturdy and reliable.”
Dr Packianathan said winning the contest was very timely and it also represents enormous cost savings. Prior to the announcement of the contest results, he was about to shell out more than $10,000 for a new autoclave unit, to be used in his 17-month-old practice in Harrison, located in the suburban district of Gungahlin in Canberra.
Now that Statim’s Australian distributor Henry Schein Halas has presented him with a brand new Statim 2000 autoclave unit for winning the nation-wide search, Dr Packianathan no longer needs to make the new equipment purchase.
“The news (that I had won the contest) came to me as a huge surprise. It was almost perfect timing to win a new autoclave unit, just when I was thinking of buying one.”
For more reasons than one, the lucky dentist has the HSH organising team to thank for the excellent timing of the contest. Having recently invested heavily in the setting up of his new clinic in Harrison, Dr Packianathan wasn’t very keen to splurge again. Construction for the newly built 183-sqm clinical facility with four operatories was completed in February 2016. Dr Packianathan owns another family practice in Weetangera, located about 25 minutes away.
To Dr Packianathan, the savings do no end with winning the Statim 2000, but are ongoing due to the new unit’s increased sterilization speeds.
“Due to the faster cycle times and speedier turnaround of sterile instruments, I can reduce the number of stock I hold for high speed handpieces – from 5 sets to perhaps 3 sets per chair. As I use high-end handheld devices that are rather expensive, this autoclave unit represents a lot of savings to me in the longer run.”
Used by healthcare practitioners in over 90 countries, the SciCan Statim brand name is synonymous with superior cycle times and processes for handpiece sterilization. The new SciCan Statim 2000/5000 G4 Cassette Autoclave range takes the world’s best-selling autoclave to a new level of speed, dependability and ease of use.
The unit’s ability to sterilize handpieces and instruments in as little as 8 minutes, effectively allows handheld instruments to be processed ‘just in time’ or between patients. Increased efficiency works in unison with its “gentle” sterilization that does not compromise instruments in any way – thanks to its state-of-the-art steam generator rapidly heating and converting water into steam in mere seconds. This outstanding feature is dovetailed by its equally fast drying technology.
Built for connectivity, the WIFI-enabled autoclave also boasts a high-resolution touchscreen panel offering all the customisable parameters at your fingertips as well as real-time operations – cycle history, printing, validation information, etc. – through your network portal.
Technology aside, Dr Packianathan was also impressed by the physical compactness of the SciCan Statim 2000.
“The unit does not require installation and is small enough to fit onto a portable cart – needing only a wall socket to operate. Compared to other autoclave units on the market, I believe it is one of the most spce-saving models around. Indeed, its small footprint frees up a lot of space on my bench tops in the Steri room.”
In the end, what stands out for Dr Packianathan is the peace of mind he gets from owning a high-end autoclave unit.
“Sterilisation is a most important aspect of Dentistry. I believe with the new Statim autoclave, my sterilisation section will enjoy perfectly smooth operations without any interruption to patient care.”