When you produce a product, it’s essential to understand how the aging process impacts its condition or quality. This knowledge is critical across industries, from consumer goods to pharmaceuticals. The medical device industry, in particular, places a large emphasis on testing the shelf life of products. That’s because as time goes on, a product’s Sterile Barrier System can become altered as it faces stresses from time and the ambient environment. If a Sterile Barrier System becomes compromised, this can jeopardize the efficacy and safety of the medical device in question. Therefore, the FDA requires medical device manufacturers to determine a product's shelf life before sending the product to market in the United States.

However, sometimes it may take many months or even years before you can witness the toll aging takes on a product in real-time This is where accelerated aging, also known as accelerated shelf-life testing, comes into play. Accelerated aging is a type of testing that simulates the effects that time has on a product or package by subjecting it to elevated temperatures. This testing allows medical device manufacturers to determine a newly developed product’s shelf life and witness the long-term effects of aging without having to wait for years to see the real-time results.