Patent ID: 8043845

Claim:
A sterilization indicator, comprising: a carrier, the carrier having a first surface and a second surface; a support, the support having a first section and a second section, the carrier overlying the first section of the support, the second surface of the carrier being adhered to the first section of the support; and a biological indicator supported by the carrier, the first section of the support having a length and the second section of the support having a length, the ratio of the length of the second section of the support to the length of the first section of the support being in the range from about 2:1 to about 12:1, the second section of the support being of sufficient dimension to function as a handle to permit handling the sterilization indicator without contacting the biological indicator; the sterilization indicator being formed by applying the biological indicator to the carrier and then adhering the carrier to the support, the carrier being adhered to the support using sonic welding, the carrier having a surface area in the range from about 1 to about 80 mm 2 , the volume of incubation medium needed to incubate the biological indicator being in the range from about 0.1 to about 5 ml, the time required to incubate the biological indicator being in the range from about 0.1 to about 48 hours, wherein the sonic welding, when applied to the carrier with the biological indicator applied, exhibits no significant difference in the biological indicator following the sonic welding as compared to prior to the sonic welding, and wherein the biological indicator comprises Geobacillus stearothermophilus.